


Let Me In

by ananimegirlhasnoname



Series: Let Me In [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Additional Warnings in Chapter Notes, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempted Sexual Assault, Blood and Injury, Canon Divergent, Canon-Typical Violence, Caring Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I am tired, It takes a while to get to the smut but when it is there it is THERE., Kidnapping, Levi Ackerman is Tired, Moments of PTSD, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peril, Post-Canon, Sassy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Sassy Reader, Slow Burn, Smut, Violence, reader is adventurous, reader is strong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:07:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ananimegirlhasnoname/pseuds/ananimegirlhasnoname
Summary: Closing the tea shop alone was one of your favorite moments of the day. You would quietly extinguish each candle letting only the moonlight shine through the windows accentuating the emptiness that surrounded you. Strangely enough it made you feel at peace. The only thing that would break that tranquility turned out to be a late-night trespasser demanding a cup of tea. Of course, feeling anger at someone for being so rude, you openly defy their request and try to kick them out, even after finding out that the intruder is none other than retired Captain Levi Ackerman of the Scouts. Your harsh attitude towards him piques his curiosity, and an offer comes up that helps the both of you. Thus, begins a very unlikely alliance.When you need to leave the walls to go on an expedition to find new ingredients alone, it turns from a fun adventure to a perilous escape that threatens your life in a way you’d never experienced before. The journey changes your life forever, and your feelings for Levi in a way you never would’ve expected.Updates Every Thursday.
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Reader, Levi Ackerman/Reader
Series: Let Me In [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2157282
Comments: 24
Kudos: 51





	1. The First Day

**Author's Note:**

> **This story takes place at the end of Season 3 (and changes some details), and completely diverges from the fourth season entirely! So spoilers if you haven’t seen the third season finale yet!**
> 
> This is the first fanfiction I’ve ever written so, uh, please hype me up if you can in the comments.  
> Like I said in the summary, this is kind-of canon. The story takes place in AOT time, but sometime after the third season, and we’re just going to pretend the last season doesn’t happen because I think we can all agree it is breaking our hearts. So, this is my fanfic where the characters can be still alive since Isayama is set on making everyone suffer and be in pain this last season. That being said there will still be a lot of violence, intense moments, and eventual smut.
> 
> Anyways... Please enjoy! I do not own the rights to Attack on Titan or any of the characters. (Obviously or else I would make everyone happy and not scarred for life.)

Bright sunlight shone through your window, your eyes fluttered open softly at the brightness now apparent in your room, and your mouth curved into a slight smile. This was the day your life was going to change forever. You were surprised at how well you slept last night, your anticipation of today had been growing for some time, and it felt like it might burst at the seams. You flew out of the bed, doing a little stretch as you walked over to a mirror. Even though you were in your late twenties, a couple of wrinkles have started to form on your forehead, and a few grays have popped up from your scalp. As features go, yours were very soft and pretty, and you were able to get the attention of most people just from walking in a room. You walked away from the mirror to the windowsill, noticing that your plants needed water. 

Greenery spotted your apartment from your excessive plant collection, and multi-colored spots appeared on the walls from sunlight reflecting off many dazzling different types of rocks. Others might say that keeping pretty rocks was immature, but you loved their uniqueness, and finding the beauty in each one. In another corner of your one-bedroom home, a large easel and canvas reflected bright white, waiting for you to find inspiration for a new painting. The walls of your home were scattered with random drawings/paintings of whatever you felt like, but mostly you tried to recreate your dreams into images that you could remember for later. You stretched some more, your back was feeling a bit tense today from your anxiousness, and then you went to put on clothes for the day. When you opened the closet, the first thing you saw was your old military jacket, reminding you of your days serving in the Garrison Corps. Pushing the jacket aside you reached and found a common looking peasant style dress with a brown corset, traditional clothing for someone who lived a normal life within the walls. 

Once more glance at the jacket brought you immediately back to your memories from the military. You had always been used to protecting people, watching the walls constantly to shield everyday people from the Titan’s and back then you lived in constant fear of death and anguish. The battle for Trost had especially stuck out in your thoughts, many of your friends were lost on that day. But today was not a day where you had to worry about anything, you were finally one of those commoners, in the present you were preparing for the first day of your new job, no matter how hard your memories tried to bring you back to the past.  
\--  
When the news came 5 years ago that they successfully plugged up Shingashina and retook Wall Maria, everyone was ecstatic. Everyone knew that the Survey Corps was a powerful group of brave individuals, but a lot of people were also scared for them and were afraid of them all suffering a grim fate. They did suffer insanely large casualties, almost leaving no Survey Corps left, but the few that survived had fought for man-kinds survival and won. When they won, the presence of Titans reduced greatly, the scouts were able to grow their numbers exponentially with their success, and they retired certain older members of the other corps if they wanted to start a new life. 

You had always dreamed of a normal life. Since the events of Shiganshina and Trost, it was hard to imagine. A dark shroud of death followed everyone in the military closely, lying in wait to pounce on some unlucky bastard who had no idea that it was their time to die. Sometimes their fate would come from the hands of Titans, and sometimes it would come from the corruption of other humans. Before the walls were plugged up, nobody expected to be able to live normal lives again. Many of your comrades met a much worse fate of a shallow grave and lost dreams. 

So, when Commander Pyxis approached you with the offer to leave the Garrison, you were eager for the chance to do it. You had served him for so many years, giving your pre-teen, teenage and young-adult life to see friends and family die at the hands of others. Images flashed before your eyes of corpses piled up in the cities, and flames destroying homes around you. You were ready to restart your life anew and leave that life behind. 

It still took a long time for you to get out. You had to still give your efforts to training new recruits, showing them how to still be courageous even when their legs won’t move from gripping fear. You also wanted to find a normal job after leaving, and surprisingly, it was hard to find one. Not a lot of people were hiring, and most thought you were almost overqualified for such simple jobs. You would insist, “Simple is what I need. I’m ready to slow down.” But many of them wouldn’t believe you. Then the perfect opportunity seemed to appear out of thin air. 

Since Wall Maria was open, many small towns were forming again in the countryside, and many people were starting to rebuild a life there with their families. An ad was posted on a bulletin where a merchant decided to open an intimate tea shop in one of the smaller towns inside of Wall Maria named Schon. It wasn’t too far away from your apartment thankfully, and luckily you had a horse so you could travel around easier anyways. Deciding you had no other job prospects you felt it was necessary to go. Schon was a gorgeous village; it was close to fields of flowers and rolling hills. There weren’t many forests nearby, but the trees that were spotted around the village had delicate emerald leaves that whispered when the wind blew. They were the same type of trees that would turn crimson and burnt orange when the chill started, and the thought of their beauty excited you.  
You walked into the small tea shop and noticed that it was mostly bare inside. It was a single-story building, with large windows to see the street outside. There were a few tables around without any sort of decoration, and the chairs around them were old and uncomfortable looking. An empty fireplace was sitting in the corner, collecting dust and waiting to be set ablaze. There was a light layer of grime on the various surfaces around the shop, and it made you sneeze lightly as you wandered around looking for the merchant. A loud bang and the sound of breaking glass came from one of the back rooms, instinctually you ran to the noise, hoping that the person that made it was okay. Sitting on the ground in the pantry was a taller, very old man surrounded by broken ceramic mugs. He had gray hair all over and his face sagged from his long life.  
“Sir, are you okay? Can I help you?” You said, hoping that your potential new boss wasn’t going to get hurt right before you were supposed to do an interview. You reached for his arm, but he swatted it away quickly.

“Yes, and no, thank you child. I just slipped a little bit, but I’m okay. Can I help you with something? Why are you here?” His voice croaked, it was rough and strained.  
“I’m actually here in response to your advertisement. I was hoping to talk to you about the job. My name is Y/N, and I would love to chat with you, when you are able to.” The old man stood up, and much to your surprise he was very tall, at least over six feet. 

“My name is Shay, nice to meet you. I was going to put away those mugs, but you saw what became of that.” He gestured to the broken pieces and chuckled a bit. You noticed his eyes were light brown, almost hazel, and they sparkled as he laughed. He looked like a man who had seen happiness and joy for most of his life, and you thought to yourself, I only hope to be half as happy as him when I’m his age.

“How do you say instead of a formal interview you help me with a few things? I think that’s better than just chatting about things from your past that are most likely irrelevant in a tea shop.” He chuckled, probably noticing how you were consistently eyeballing the broken ceramic on the floor. With that you nodded and immediately got to work. That was something you had always been good at as a soldier, following orders and helping wherever you were needed. Sometimes you could have a bit of sass, or some backtalk, but eventually you always did what was needed. You went around and put away various items for Shay, and noticed he was shocked when he asked you to pick up a single box and you could pick up three or more with ease. Even though you weren’t a soldier anymore, you were still strong and muscular, and you worked out regularly to keep in shape. Shay was also amazed at your stamina as well; it didn’t seem like you would stop helping him anytime soon.

Chatting with the merchant felt very easy, he was a kind old man. He said he was looking for someone to go back and forth between manning the shop and someone who wanted to discover new teas to make with flora outside of the walls. Listening to him talk about wanting someone with an adventurous spirit made your heart skip a beat. It was the combination of doing something fun, but also having the bravery to venture beyond the walls. Back when you were a cadet, you always struggled between picking the Scouts or the Garrison. In the end it was your mother who said she would disown you if you joined the scouts, since her opinion was rooted in fear of death, and rightly so. It ended up working out, because if you were in the Scouts back then, there was a 99% chance you would be dead right now after the events of Shiganshina. 

The spirit of adventure never left you though. As soon as they said more people could venture outside of the walls, you knew that you would love to go and explore a bit. You wouldn’t make it your whole life because you wanted a family, but still the thought of exploration excited you. They did have certain rules for leaving though, you had to be either a previous soldier with knowledge of ODM gear, or with a party of at least three. No matter what, you had to have someone with ODM gear in your party in case of titans appearing. 

Now you could make that your job to find new flowers and plants to use as teas. You also could chat with other merchants to see what new items they had if you encountered any new people. As you cleaned up the shop with Shay, you told him about being in the Garrison and he wasn’t as surprised as you expected. He could sense there was something about you with the amount of hard work you were willing to do. He also noticed how much labor you did for him that day and turned to you with a quiet husky voice,

“You got the job if you want-,”  
“I accept!” You blurted, not even letting him finish his sentence.  
“Okay, I’ll be starting you at 5 days a week. You can choose which two days you want off.”  
“Who’s going to be working with you the two days I’m off?”  
“My idiot grandson. He’s immature, and not as good of a worker, but hopefully working with me will teach him a thing or two.” The two of you chuckled as the sun set on the little shop.  
\--  
Now you were ready to start a couple of weeks later. The store was almost all put together, candles now adored each table, flowers were hanging from various baskets around the store, and you had added some other decorative touches with paintings you had done in your spare time. The merchant had a few teas for people to choose from, made from his own garden that his wife tended to. Customers could either buy the leaves in bulk, or Shay could make them a steaming cup. Because of how quickly you moved, you oversaw serving people and taking orders. 

Even though the sun shone brightly, the air was crisp outside and bit at your nose as you walked towards the store. A blue scarf was wrapped around your neck, but it did nothing to stop the chill from hitting your face. Inside your head you knew that the leaves would start changing soon. You couldn’t wait to make yourself a cup of tea first thing when you got there. You picked a standard black tea and added a bit of milk and sugar to it. Shay came in next, giving you a nod before taking his place near the small kitchen towards the back. He and you exchanged nervous but excited glances through the small window. Then you waited for the flood of people to arrive.  
\--  
By the end of the day, you were noticeably tired. Not in a physical way, your body was strong enough after years of fighting to not get easily fatigued, but you were tired in a social way. When you were in the Garrison you chatted with people occasionally, but not all day, you were too busy for that. You were a bit brash as well, so you had a few really close friends, but were never a “life of the party” type of person. Not to mention that you enjoyed your hobbies outside of socialization more like painting and writing.  
You had to do the most socializing you had done in years today. Not surprisingly, many people were eager to go to a new tea place, especially on a day where the temperature had dropped significantly. The location of the shop was perfect too, it was in the sight of people who were leaving to go beyond the wall. They could get a cup of tea before or after travelling. Word just spreads fast when a new establishment opens.

The sun had left for the day, and the moon replaced it, giving the tea shop a beautiful blue glow. You had started a fire in the fireplace to keep yourself warm in the cool air. Your footsteps were the only sound left, all the customers had left for the day. Candles glowed red on each of the tables, and you were going to each one to put it out for the night when you heard the door open. You didn’t even turn around to look at the person, you just huffed out, “I’m sorry, but we’re closed now.” Your voice was cold, sharp, and unfriendly. There was a sign on the door, could this idiot not fucking read? 

“I saw the sign.” An equally as cold, deep male voice met yours. You gritted your teeth and continued to go around and blow out the candles, not turning to face the intruder because if you did, he would be able to tell how pissed off you really were. It was the first day of the shop being open, and you didn’t want to permanently lose a new customer, you just wanted him to come back tomorrow.

“If you read it, then you saw. We open tomorrow morning at 10 am, you can come back then.” The sickly-sweet tone you tried to force felt unnatural, and you were sure this man saw through it. There was then an unnerving quiet that filled the space, as he was still there, but wasn’t saying anything. The only sound in the room was you walking around carefully and letting out a tuft of air for each candle and the clinks from grabbing a few stray empty teacups previous customers had left behind. 

“Sir, if you don’t leave, I might be forced to alert someone. You are technically trespassing.” You said, your voice raising, continuing your cold exterior.

“Don’t make me laugh.” He said coolly again, but his voice was much closer this time, as if he had stepped right behind you. Feeling your stomach flip from his close proximity, you turned quickly to look him in the eyes, so he could see the anger twisted in your face. You wanted him to know you weren’t fucking around. Your face changed from anger to shock as soon as you saw him. It was Captain Levi of the Scouts.

A shorter pale man with ivory black hair was standing in front of you, his silver eyes half-lidded, the same shade as the moon outside. They burned back into your eyes; his stare so intense that you wanted to look away almost immediately. The moonlight created dramatic shadows on his sharp bone structure, and he looked a bit menacing in this lighting. You noticed that he was wearing normal clothes, a black suit with a white button-down shirt, a few of which were undone, and his collarbone peeked out underneath. He had a black wool coat in his hand, draped over his shoulder effortlessly. His other hand was grazing the table next to him, picking up a bit of dust with it. 

“This place is filthy.” He hissed quietly. You were too stunned to feel angered by it. You had heard before that he was relentless when it came to cleaning. Breathlessly a couple of choice words escaped your lips, your brain so shocked you didn’t even realize that you said them.

“Holy _fuck_.”

“There’s nothing holy about that.” He retorted back, an edge to his voice that time. “Now can I please get a cup of tea. That’s all I want. I’m sure you understand.”  
Of course, you fucking understood! Standing in front of you, close enough to touch, was Captain Levi of the Scout Regiment. He and only a few others survived that fateful day at Shingashina that saved everyone’s lives. He was “Humanity’s Strongest Soldier”, and we all should be grateful to him! If you were still a soldier, you would automatically make him a cup of tea, no questions asked, but now things were different. You weren’t a soldier anymore, you were a regular woman, talking to a rude regular customer who decided to try to use his privilege to break the rules. He also was retired from the Scouts; you saw in the newspaper that he was pretty much forced into it. Hange the current commander of the scouts wanted him to find peace in his life now that he had done his duty and saved humanity. So now, he was a normal human being as well. You didn’t break his eye contact, but you did catch your breath and you started getting annoyed again. He wasn’t your captain anymore, and this wasn’t fair of him to do.

“Look sir, respectfully, either you come back tomorrow like everyone else, or you work here and can do whatever the fuck you want. Our hours are from 10 am to 9 pm. I will be working, and if you decide to come in, I will remember you, and will treat you to a cup of whichever tea you choose.” That offer hopefully was good enough for him to not pass up, and hopefully you could keep him as a customer. “Right now, I have things I need to get done to prepare for tomorrow.” You finally broke eye contact and walked right past him to go behind the counter. His mouth opened a bit, and his eyes widened, a very subtle look of shock. He probably doesn’t get very many people who refuse him.  
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice him scanning you up and down, and then he let out a loud click of his tongue. You could tell he was trying hard to keep whatever obscenities he wanted to say in his head, and he thought about his various choices before finally nodding, and then saying carefully, his mouth downturned into a frown,

“Fine. I will try coming back tomorrow, but you’re going to regret this.” Silently, he walked out the door. When he did, you raced to close it behind him and then sat down on the ground, breathing heavily. That was the closest you’ve ever gotten to the captain in all your years of service, and of course it had to be in the most inconvenient time ever. His ice-cold words raced through your mind,  
_I would regret this…? What the fuck? What is that little bastard going to do?!_  
You tried to regain your thoughts to complete the work you had left, but it was hurried as you felt anxious to leave. You noticed that when you got close to the door again to depart for home, a smell of soap and lilac lingered in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! First chapter down! Thank you to everyone who is reading. I appreciate you all! ❤️
> 
> I’m going to try and release a new chapter every week on Thursdays, so keep an eye out for that if you don’t want to miss it! Lots of love to you all, and sleep well fellow Levi simps!


	2. The Arrangement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh thank you to those who've commented and left kudos! I didn't expect to have like any kudos or comments or anything so they are greatly appreciated and make me feel really happy! 
> 
> Caution: Season 3 finale spoilers, but also I diverge from the story more here, just so ya know!

As you worked the next day, you noticed the crowd was just a bit quieter than on opening day, but not by too much. The weather was warmer, so that drew some of the people outside, but the shop was still busy enough to keep you active and constantly helping people. All the tables and chairs were full, and the line of people would come in crashing waves, never knowing when you were going to get overwhelmed by it. You and Shay struggled to keep up with the demand, but somehow you were able to work together to keep the thirsty customers at bay. Who knew so many folks liked tea this close to the wall?

In your head, Levi’s ominous and confusing words echoed. _“You would regret this.” Oh, shut the hell up. He should regret trying to get service when the place is already fucking closed._

You tried to push his statement out of your head so you could work without distraction but you couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t made an appearance yet. Maybe he decided against coming to the shop at all, that would honestly be easier than dealing with him. You doubted though that your attitude alone would be enough to scare off the fearless captain. 

Then, in the middle of the afternoon, when the line had died down a bit and you were about to take a break to eat your lunch, you noticed a familiar face walk into the shop. He was wearing a light tan jacket with the scout insignia adorned on the back, and it looked like he had the leather straps still wrapped around his torso and legs. Even though he was retired, you heard that he still would train the new scout recruits frequently, and you did not envy them. His presence and energy alone last night was enough to rile you up, and you were thankful that you could talk back to him. The recruits would never have that privilege. 

The presence of Levi entering the shop made everyone in the room quiet, and whispers began to echo in the space. He flashed a second of eye contact with you, his silver eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed in annoyance at the amount of people who recognized him. Crossing his arms and turning his head down, he walked over to an empty table, avoiding the stares of curious faces around him. The whispers became even louder after he walked past various groups of people around the intimate shop. 

“Is that who I think it is?”  
“That looks like Captain Levi of the Scouts!”  
“Oh wow, I wonder if he’s about to leave to go outside the walls?”  
“Do you think he would talk to me or my son? Little Ben absolutely loves him.”  
“Wow, look at his eyes… you know, he is so handsome.”  
“Girl he’s like ten years older than you, and about six inches shorter.”

You rolled your eyes at all the attention he was getting; he was like a local celebrity. Of course, news of what he’s done had reached anyone who could pick up a newspaper, which had essentially made him an idol. History books of this time would be written with his name all over them. During the events of retaking Shiganshina, he had single handedly defeated the beast titan and cart titan after an awe-inspiring sacrifice by Commander Erwin and the newest scout recruits. 

You could just barely tell that he muttered something to himself at that last remark, probably a quiet curse, and then sat down at the table. That meant you’d have to walk over there and serve him. The thought made anger start to bubble up within you, but you were the one who told him to do this. As he sat and waited to be served, his face was stuck to a newspaper, and a notebook where he took his own notes. His aura seemed to exude a “don’t even think of coming near me” energy, yet soon enough, a couple of children were coming up to him with bright eager eyes, hoping he would retell some of his stories from his past. He would decline each time politely, but when one left, it seemed another was lying in wait.

You wondered if he loved it or hated everyone worshipping him, but decided he probably hated the attention. If it were you, you would hate it as well, you never liked having a ton of eyes on you, and it would be even worse if you were just trying to get something to drink like a normal person. You gave Shay a look to hint that you were going to take Levi’s order, and Shay gave you a strained look as you walked around the counter to Levi’s table. 

“Welcome back sir, I’m happy to see you again.” That sickly-sweet fake voice trickled out of your mouth again, and you cringed. 

“You’re a shitty liar.” He didn’t even look away from his newspaper, acting almost as if you weren’t even there, just a speck of dust trying to talk to him. You tried to resist the increasing red-hot feeling rising in your chest, trying to make its way up to your face. 

“I wouldn’t lie to a customer. Anyways, a promise is a promise.” You swallowed your annoyance down. “You can have whichever tea you like. We have green, black, and a chamomile tea. It’s an herbal, calming tea made from the flower of the same name. We also have cream and sugar if you need it.” He definitely didn’t seem like a cream or sugar person, but you always suggested it just in case.

He gave out a small sigh and finally looked up from his paper, his jaw tight and his tone annoyed. “You only have three types? What sort of specialty tea shop only has the basics?” His blatant rudeness made your jaw drop a bit. 

“Excuse me?” You said a little too loudly, ready to fire off a flurry of obscenities at him but took a deep breath and calmed yourself down considering there were families here. “As you already know, we just opened yesterday. Once we have enough money, I’ll be going on expeditions outside the walls to find more flowers and plants to use for the tea.” In response to you, the raven-haired captain cocked one eyebrow and locked his eyes on yours.

“How exciting.” Sarcasm reeked in his voice, and it made you bite your tongue. “Fine. I’ll take chamomile. Plain.” Then his eyes scanned back to the paper.

You bit down on your tongue hard as you fired back at him in your head. _It is exciting. Not all of us could spend every day outside the walls if we wanted to like you. Plus, what do you know about tea? Surely, you’re not an expert or else you would’ve fucking opened one up yourself. If you’re only going to come here to antagonize me, then you can get your tea from somewhere else. Also, would a ‘please and thank you’ kill you?_

Keeping your anger at bay, you decided not to say anything back, and you turned around quickly and made your way back to the counter to tell Shay what he wanted. Shay quickly made the tea and let it steep. His eyes looked worried and a bit frenzied, and you wondered why. Then, you immediately understood. You hadn’t been paying attention to the shift in the room that had happened as soon as you left his table. Levi had more people coming up to him and asking him questions, varying from the small children to now flirtatious women, and teenagers. 

“Wow, these people are brave trying to talk to him, it really seems like he isn’t interested in talking to them.” You said to Shay. “I’m surprised they haven’t gotten a taste of his shitty attitude yet and given up.” 

“These people aren’t brave, they’re just grateful to him. They probably lost family members to the titans, and so they see him as a symbol of hope. Especially kids, even though it doesn’t look like he likes them very much. Maybe you should be grateful to him too.” Shay’s words did hold true. You weren’t a fan of him but you could understand others seeing him as a figurehead for the peace we have now. It’s not like all of these civilians had heard of him torturing MP’s or beating the shit out of that Yeager kid, but because you were in the military you definitely knew the rumors of his penance for violence. 

Because he was sitting by the window, more people from outside were coming in to see what the children were all crowded around. They excitedly made their way into the already busy shop to get a peek at the captain who usually hid in the shadows away from others. The line started becoming exceedingly long as more and more people were coming in. Along with taking these new orders, at some point you needed to bring Levi his tea. You grabbed his cup, and very carefully side-stepped the crowd around him.

“Excuse me.” You kept saying over and over, hoping that people would let you through, but it was very difficult. You didn’t want to accidentally step on someone’s kid or piss off a seductive mother. Finally, a path opened to you once Levi stood up and started walking over to you, grabbing his tea by the brim with his slender fingers, and quietly saying,

“Do you understand now, brat?” His eyes stared into yours, his mouth still downturned as usual. You were starting to feel a bit of stress work its way through you with the amount of people in the shop, and you wondered if Levi did too. If he was, he didn’t show it in his stoic and void face as he turned away from you to sit back down in his chair.

To be honest you were starting to understand what Levi had meant last night. By telling him to come during the day, he had drawn a larger amount of people to the quiet little tea shop, albeit nice to get more business, the crowd was overwhelming the two tea shop employees. Shay was moving as fast as his elderly body could let him, and you were learning very quickly how to walk quickly with tea in your hands and not spilling a single drop. Beads of sweat stuck to your forehead, and the time seemed to pass by so fast that you didn’t even know how long Levi was there for. One moment you caught a glimpse of him taking a sip from his cup, holding the brim delicately to take drinks, and then the next he was gone, and so was the insane crowd. 

\--  
Then, in the next moment, the moon was out again, shining through the windows. Shay had left a few hours earlier so he could go to bed. The old geezer couldn’t stay up past 7 pm, but thankfully the amount of people had drastically died down by then so you could handle the shop by yourself. You were surprised he could work for that long anyways at his age. Then 9 PM passed, and you changed the sign on the window and locked the front door. Heating up some water, you made yourself a cup of chamomile tea, hoping would help calm your nerves that were still on end from how hectic the day was. A low rumble came from your stomach and you realized you never got to eat lunch.

You turned your back to the counter as you made your tea, and then heard a creak come from one of the floorboards in the shop. Your eyes widened in fear, and you held your cup in one hand, ready to throw it at whatever intruder had decided to break in instinctively. Then suddenly, the curtains to the windows were drawn, and the shop was enveloped in darkness. The only light coming from the flickering candles on the tables. Moving as quickly as you could, you whipped your body around and started to move your arm to throw your cup, but hands closed around your wrists before you could even turn. The intruders front pressed up to your backside, positioning the front of your body against the counter. They had you pinned. Even though you couldn’t see them, you could feel the intruder’s chest rise and fall as they breathed. Your body tensed up in reaction to him holding you like this and he got close enough to whisper softly in your ear, his warm breath tickling your earlobe, sending chills down your spine. 

“What a waste of perfectly good tea that would’ve been.” His voice was deep, and smooth. You definitely recognized it from somewhere and wondered if it was Levi, but he already came to the shop today, there would be no reason for him to come back tonight. Trying to free your wrists, you pulled against him, but the intruder held them with a grip so strong it was beginning to sting, and you realized it would leave bright red welts later. 

Not even feeling the need to respond, you tilted your head forward as far as it would go ready to spring your breakout plan into action. Thank god your years in the military gave you the skills of quick thinking and self-defense. 

Suddenly, you threw your head back with as much force as possible, slamming it into his. A flash of white stars ran across your eyes, and a ringing sound lingered in your ears, but you suppressed the pain you felt for a moment because you weren’t done yet. After you hit his head, his grip loosened just enough for you to push your back into him and flip around, quickly sweeping your legs under his, sending him to the floor. You saw a flash of raven colored hair, and as soon as you swept his foot, you saw his face, red and orange dancing on it from the fire as a bit of blood came out of his nose. His reflexes were extremely fast though, and as he fell, he took you down with him, sending both of you crashing to the floor, your cup of tea flying in the opposite direction from the two of you. You rolled on top of him, and he stared at you, his eyes big with anticipation, both of you breathless from the fall. You raised up both hands to punch him, but he was faster, holding your wrists again in midair. 

“Wait.” He said, his voice normal this time. You stared at him in shock as what just happened sank in. The shock was quickly replaced by a fiery anger, boiling over the surface, twisting your face up and trying to free your arms from his grasp. 

“What the fuck are you doing here? Are you trying to kill me?” You hissed at him through gritted teeth. The temptation to punch him was so strong, your knuckles were turning white in his grasp. He could feel the anger seething off of you, he was glad he grabbed your wrists in time because he could tell you weren’t someone who would hold back on your punches. “You have ten seconds to explain yourself!” You shouted at him, your voice shaking from anger.

“Or you’ll what? You can’t even move your arms. Plus, if I wanted to hurt you I would’ve already.” He sighed and looked to the side. “But I do owe you an explanation.” He paused for only a moment before continuing. “I wanted another cup of tea.” 

Your mouth openly slightly in bewilderment at his curt answer. _He just wanted another tea?_ All this for another fucking cup of tea? You knew he was right about not hurting you yet, so you untensed your body, letting your arms soften a bit, and he did the same, loosening his grip on your wrists. You rolled off him and stood up, staring at him carefully as he stood up after you. He spoke again in response to your confused silence.

“You were much too busy to get me another one earlier, so I waited for one. It was too insane in here, more tea never came, so I left.” You just stared at him. The flickering of flames danced lightly next to you, reflecting back on his pale skin, you saw he took a cloth from his pocket and wiped some of the blood from his face. He backed away from you, walking over to the window to throw open the curtains again, checking to make sure no one saw him inside the shop. 

“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t followed, and no one could see me in here with you.” He said again, his voice tense now. You took a deep breath, a strong resolve in your voice.

“You scared the shit out of me. I was worried I was about to get robbed, or die.” Your hands flew up next to your head in annoyance. It was only met with Levi’s cool composed presence walking over to you again. 

“I could tell when you pulled that move with your head.” He said touching his nose, it was bruised, but you don’t think you broke it. That was, until he grabbed the side of it with one hand and set it into place right in front of you, a loud crack coming from the bone. You shivered at the sound it made, but you were a bit impressed that he did it without even flinching. Dark red blood dripped down his face, and he held the cloth up to it again to stop it. “The move of an amateur.” 

“I don’t think an amateur would even be able to make you bleed. I swear if you ever pull that shit again, I’ll kill you.” He really knew how to get under your skin, prompting you to just say whatever popped into your head, which proved to actually be good in your comebacks towards him. It was not good when you were in cadet training, your tongue would constantly get you into trouble, but now you appreciated being able to show your truest self. Your tone prompted Levi to stand dangerously close to you again.

“Tch. As if you could be fast enough.” He said quietly. “Do you understand what I meant now?” 

“Well, I got from how you reacted to all the people that you don’t want to be surrounded by crowds when you do normal things.” He stared into your eyes, he was so close you could see the flames dancing in his pupils, the silver in his eyes replaced with golden embers. “You didn’t have to be such an ass about it though. Why not just explain last night?”

“There’s no fun in that. I wanted to teach you a lesson.”

“Are you kidding me? You didn’t teach me anything, except now I’ve seen firsthand what an insane bastard you are.”

“You’re right, I am.” He adjusted his stance to put both hands in his pockets. “Now, I would like another cup of tea. The same one as earlier, and an extra cup of warm water. ” His tone was firm and unmoving. 

“You are relentless. At least a please and thank you would be nice.” You sighed. He didn’t react to that, still just stood there staring at you. He was closer than you thought, the same smell of soap and lilac from last night wafted up to your nose, and you couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of comfort from the scent. 

With how close he was you couldn’t help but notice that he wasn’t a bad looking man. The difference in color from the moonlight and the flames dancing on the tables accentuated his bone structure, and showed off every small detail of his skin. He had a few small scars on his face, barely noticeable from far away, and his skin was perfectly clean shaven. Not even a bit of stubble showed. Like how? Does he shave every two hours? 

Giving him an eye roll, he scoffed as you turned and made him and yourself a new cup of tea, and a bit of extra hot water for him to wipe his face with. After a few minutes of letting the leaves steep, you handed him the two mugs, not saying a single word to him. Nodding, he went and sat down at one of the tables, while you still stood behind the counter, sipping slowly on the comforting liquid.  
Staring at him carefully, you wanted to make sure he didn’t try anything weird, considering he was the strangest man you’d ever met. He held the rim of the cup carefully in his forefingers and stared back at you, his face relaxed into a slight frown as he took small sips. At least he liked the tea enough to order a second one, that was a compliment in itself. 

His intense eye contact was unsettling to you so you looked away first, finishing your drink and continued your closing duties, starting with the puddle on the floor nearby from your dropped tea. If he wanted to pull something, he would’ve done it already. So, you turned around and started mopping the floor. Suddenly, you felt a small breeze and could tell he was behind you again. Literally out of nowhere. This man moves insanely fast. You stayed with your back to him, annoyance seeping into your voice. 

“Can you not? That creeps me out.” He didn’t budge.

“You do a shitty job of cleaning.” He said with his usually calmness. You whipped around to face him, feeling like you could punch him again. 

“Are you seriously trying to piss me off again?” You hissed at him, annoyed that he would just make such an inflammatory statement.

“I’m simply making an observation.” He said, his tone had an underlying sass to it. 

“Okay then. If you think you can do it better, then do it yourself or leave.” 

“Fine. Let me.” He said, putting out his arm and making a small motion with his hand to give him the mop.

About to say something, you opened your mouth in protest, but stopped. You handed him the mop and watched him get to work as he grabbed a couple more cloths out of a small satchel he had brought in and wrapped one around his face. Then he removed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and started crazily cleaning the floor. The way he cleaned was mind-blowing. He was so good at finding every little detail and every speck of dust on every surface, and he moved much faster than you did while cleaning. You hated cleaning with a passion so watching someone who was so good at it just wowed you. If Levi ever saw your apartment you could already hear his voice in your head saying, _“Disgusting.”_ Plus, not having to clean the tea shop made it so you had more time to count the money, do the dishes, and restock. Suddenly, an awful idea suddenly came into your head. 

_Would Levi come back every evening after closing for tea? Making me stay later for him? If he was, maybe I should suggest a mutual relationship with each other, doing something for the other to get what they want in return. He certainly can’t have me stay later for him without him doing something in return, and if he didn’t accept you could call authorities to remove him from the shop next time he comes in._ Thinking that you needed to suggest this quickly, you chimed in, his head turned to look at you.

“I have an idea.” His eyebrows furrowed again and it looked like he wanted to say something to shut you down, but you interrupted him before he could. “How about this, what if I let you come in after close and give you tea, but you help me with the cleaning duties? Since you say I’m so shitty at it, and I can tell you’re enjoying yourself.” His expression softened as one of his thin dark eyebrows lifted slightly at your idea; you could tell his interest was piqued. “The only days you can’t are when Shay’s grandson is working in my place, which is on Mondays and Fridays.” 

“What if I don’t agree to your terms?” He said darkly, his mouth pursed together.

“After tonight I’ll let the authorities know that we have a trespasser, and then you can never come back here again.” His mouth curled up into a sneer.

“You’re arrogant to think I care about coming back here so much that I would go along with such a stupid idea.”

“Well you wouldn’t have come back tonight if you really didn’t care. Why would it have been worth the effort at all?” His mouth closed at your question.

With that your banter stopped as Levi quietly ponded his next move. He didn’t want to explain that he had other reasons for coming back tonight, one of them being he was intrigued by you. To him, you were stubborn, fiery, and brazen, uncommon for someone who’s supposed to be in customer service. Plus, the fact that you didn’t even care who he was, or even acknowledge it made him feel a little bit more human. 

“Well, it’s already been established that I would do a better job at cleaning, and a not-so shitty tea place is hard to find.” Upon hearing him say what you think is a yes, the edge of your mouth raised slightly to smirk at him.

“Good, I’m glad we can agree on something.” It wasn’t totally an agreement, but it was the closest thing. With that, he went back to cleaning uninterrupted. Immediately he was off, and even though you were trying to finish the other closing duties, he was a little distracting. The way he moved while cleaning was almost elegant, and his muscles rippled through his shirt like they hated being held down by the cloth. For a moment, you saw sweat bead down his forearms, and your mouth became dry. You swallowed empty air and tried to focus back to your work.

_Get a grip. This is motherfucking Levi Ackerman. He’s not just some random man, he could get any woman he wanted. I’m sure he has considering his age, so stop ogling and do your job. He probably already has someone at home anyways. He’s been retired for a little while now and has had time to find someone else. Also, don’t forget, you despise him._

Finally, when both of you had finished, he just nodded at you, and you opened the front door to let him out. His face was the same as it always was, downturned but not entirely a frown. He peeked outside in the moonlight, and then his silvery eyes stared right into yours and said,

“Let me walk you home. You don’t know what lurks around here at night.” You looked at him, dumbstruck by his kind offer. After scaring the shit out of you, and then making a contractual agreement, you didn’t think he would offer something so innocent. Too bad for him you were stubborn as hell and didn’t like extra help if you didn’t need it. You were fine letting someone else clean for you considering you hated it, but you loved evening walks by yourself. 

“I think I can handle myself. I might not be as fast as you, but don’t forget I was able to break your nose.” You gave him a smirk. He clicked his tongue at the comment.

“That was a moment of luck, and will never happen again. But, if you say so, shitty brat.” He started walking. “Do you have a name?” 

“F/N L/N.” You didn’t use any of your military titles. Mostly because you didn’t want him to give you any shit about being in the Garrison, but also because you didn’t care about your status anymore. “And you sir, what might yours be?” You gave him another playful smirk, and you noticed his face was still stoic and cold staring back at you. 

“Levi Ackerman.” You noticed he didn’t use his formal titles either. With that, he was gone, and so were you. Off to your respective homes in the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this chapter was so long! I've edited it like 10 times in the last few days trying to perfect it and it just kept getting longer and longer :') 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading lovelies, and sleep well!


	3. Before Departure

In bed at night, your fingertips grazed over where his hands had touched your arms. You were right, he did leave marks from how tight he held you. The skin was red and tender. It pissed you off that he put marks on you, the rough son of a bitch. As much as you tried to shake the image of him out of your head, it was impossible. You could still see his blue-silver eyes, feel the pressure of his body on yours, and smell his clean scent. The hair on the back of your neck stood up as you remembered the feeling of his breath on your skin, close enough to give you chills. You tossed and turned in your bed, but every time you closed your eyes, his intense gaze stared back at you. You stood up and made your way to the pantry, hoping that snacking would distract you from your thoughts for a bit. You grabbed a loaf of bread and tore off little pieces to snack on, thinking of all the reasons why Levi bothered you so much.

_He’s brash, foul-mouthed, stubborn, rude, and impassive. Oh shit, I think I just described myself too. Okay he can’t be all bad, he did offer to walk me home. He obviously cares about people or else he wouldn’t put so much effort into saving them in the first place. His honesty is kind of refreshing. Plus, he’s very attractive, his facial bone structure looks like it was sculpted by gods and his muscles probably are too…_

_Shit, what the hell am I doing. I don’t like this man, he’s insufferable to be around._

You thought to yourself, shoving three pieces of bread in your mouth and walking back to your bed. Since you couldn’t sleep, maybe you’d find relief in painting something. That usually calms you down a bit whenever you feel overwhelmed or are overthinking. The different colors blending seamlessly together, and the delicate strokes of the brush making soft sounds as they grazed across the canvas instantly could calm you. You just wondered what to paint. Maybe a manifestation of your confused feelings, or maybe a man’s ass because whether you liked it or not, you were horny tonight.

\--

Levi sat in his favorite chair and stared out the window, a book in his hands. The clock on the desk in front of him read 3 in the morning. He desperately wished he could sleep, but every time he closed his eyes and started to, his dreams would be flooded with red. Screaming would echo in his ears, and the bloodied faces of those closest to him would infiltrate his thoughts. This was common for him, it happened most nights since the death of his friends Isabel and Farlan, but even though many years had passed since then, the nightmares just got worse and worse as more comrades died. When he would wake up from a bad dream, he tried to find something to do, whether it was writing his thoughts down, or going for an evening horse ride to feel the cold air hit his face and remind himself that he can’t change the past. But tonight, something else also weighed on his mind.

_That damned worker from the tea shop. What an aggravating woman. Disrespectful. Annoying. Crude. Independent... Passionate…_

He sighed as he thought about what happened this evening, remembering the fire flickering in your eyes as you were staring at him after you broke his nose. The stubborn soul that reminded him a bit of himself. You weren’t a pushover, and you didn’t dote over him or fear him like everyone one else. It was refreshing, and yet annoying. He thought of your lips cursing at him, soft and yet so unyielding and strong. He thought of you on top of him, your face twisted, furious with anger as you reared up to punch him. Raw passion and fire like that was hard to find in people. Suddenly the image of your lips on his popped into his head, and your body on top of him, grinding against him. Without realizing it, his pale skin became flushed.

_Fuck, no. I can’t think about her like that. Plus, she probably hates me for scaring her. She deserves someone who doesn’t have death so close by. Shit, I hardly know her and I’m already thinking of her dying._

As his thoughts began to swirl into a dark place, a soft mew came from the floor below, and Levi looked down.  
“You again.” He said to the small white cat staring up at him. “I’m surprised you’ve stayed here this long.” He stood up and walked over to the small food and water bowls to make sure they were full. The feline rubbed his legs as he walked, and even though he was depressed about his current situation, the fuzzy creature did have a strange way of making him feel a little bit better. A few pieces of hair got on his pants, and he made a disgusted face as he picked them up and threw them away.

“It would be nice if you didn’t do that, disgusting little thing. I thought you cleaned yourself.” He talked to the cat like it was a real person. “I’m going to leave for a bit. I'll be back soon.”

He decided he would go for an evening horse ride to clear his mind.

\--

The next day, work for you was just as crazy as the last, so incredibly busy, but also so rewarding. You and Shay were starting to get a good flow going as a pair, you were taking orders and dropping off tea to customers, and Shay was making it as fast as his old joints could handle. You were starting to find ways to communicate without even speaking, only using eye contact and gestures. Shay was great at keeping calm under pressure too and you admired his patience and the fact that he never raised his voice at you.  
Occasionally you would pick up a few words from conversations as you dropped tea off at the tables, some of them revolving around a certain short asshole.

“This is the tea shop Captain Levi went to yesterday! It must be good if he would choose to come here.” Upon hearing things like this, you stayed quiet and ignored them. Only you knew that he just picked this tea shop hoping to get away from his "fans". 

As day turned to night, you changed the sign from open to closed, and awaited the ex-captain’s return. Right on schedule, he showed up.  
The door opened, and his lithe figure appeared before you again. He was wearing a black t-shirt today with a tan jacket, black fitted pants, and had a medium sized duffel bag in his left hand. 

_Was this him trying to look casual? What was in the bag?_

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to hold up your end of the deal.” You walked behind the counter and grabbed him a cup of chamomile tea. He gave you a “tch” and set his bag down on the nearest table. 

“I always keep my promises.” He said with his usual calm voice, his face expressionless. “Plus, where else would I be able to have mediocre tea in the company of a rude brat such as yourself.”

“Oh good, glad to know it’s only mediocre and not complete shit. Now, shut the fuck up and enjoy your drink.” You faked that sickly sweet customer service voice to coat the brashness of your words as you passed him the steaming hot cup. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed the rim with his fingers, blowing lightly on the edge and taking a sip. When he blows on the tea it makes a thought of his lips softly blowing on your skin, causing you to shiver instinctively, but you prayed he didn’t see your reaction and pushed the image out of your mind. 

You continued to do your closing duties in silence. Today he had brought some papers with him and was reading over them carefully as he drank his tea. Then after he was done, he grabbed gloves and some bandanas out of his bag, and other cleaning products. You glanced over at him, realizing that he could almost do this as a profession.

“So uh, were our cleaning products not good enough or something?”

“No.” He said blandly, getting prepared by putting a cloth over his face and in his hair, setting his jacket on the chair he was previously sitting in. Then he dove right into cleaning with ease. When he did, the same thing happened as last night, you caught yourself staring at the handsome form in front of you. His body moved so easily and effortless, and his shirt would constrict his muscles to show them off ever so slightly. He cleaned the glass on the window, and saw his own reflection, and yours, catching a quick glance at him. You bit your lip and tried to look away quickly, but you were sure he saw you. His lips curled into a small smile as he continued, and your face burned red. 

_A brat and a pervert._ He thought to himself and smiled, almost saying it out loud.

“So why do you stay up so late? Don’t you get tired after training the Scouts?” You said, trying to lighten the sudden shift in the mood.

“I don’t sleep often, so yes. But I’m used to it.” He said in the same uninterested tone. 

“Oh.” You paused, unsure of what to say back to that. “Why don’t you just make your own tea? Why come out here?” You said, just genuinely curious. 

“Tea always tastes better when it’s made by someone else, and this is the most rural tea shop I’ve found. Still doesn’t keep the people away though.” He wasn’t entirely telling you the truth, he concealed his true intentions for coming to the shop, and probably would never tell you honestly why he was there in the first place. 

“Hm.” You say back to him, wondering if that meant anything, turning your head down to return to your duties. 

“Where did you learn that move?” He quietly asked you, the sizzling of a flame on a table going out in the background. You debated on if you wanted to tell him about your military past. You were worried he would shame you for not being in the Scouts. It’s entirely possible that he looked down on the Garrison, they weren’t as brave in his eyes, not as cowardly and corrupt as the MP’s, but still fearful enough to stay behind the walls.

“From a young age I was taught how to defend myself against assholes with bad intentions. They’re everywhere you know, sneaking into places where they shouldn’t be at night to scare the shit out of poor workers…” You said coyly, hoping that he understood your joke. You weren’t going to tell him the truth about yourself just yet either.

“I see. Well, my intentions aren’t bad. I just wanted some tea in peace, brat.” He said, clicking his tongue.

“Sure, you just had to make me fear you first.” You said, almost feeling a bit of annoyance bubbling within you again, coming out in your sharpened tone.

“Not fear, respect.” He flicked his eyes up to you darkly. “You should be lucky I didn’t show you what true fear really feels like.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of your methods of torture, beating up people, and the fact that you’ve murdered too. But you’re still just a man, not a Titan or a God.” He smirked at you, being fully aware that he did secretly have some otherworldly power. Your eyes were focused on his intensely, your arms crossed against your body. “Plus, you’d never hurt a lowly shop worker, they’d put you in jail for that, considering you're not a Captain anymore.” This time he was the first to break eye contact, going back to what he was doing. He thought about hitting you with a comeback but was drawing a blank. He was better at fighting with swords than with words. 

“Are you always this insufferable?” He said, his tone reeked of unenthusiasm. 

“Only around people who push my buttons or threaten me.” You said back with a huff of breath. “So far, you fit both those categories.” You flashed him a quick glare and he stared back at you, his face unmoving, but you saw something change in his eyes, almost as if he were amused.

\--

Before you knew it, a month had passed since opening, and business was still as busy as ever. Ever since that first and second day, new customers were throwing their money into the little shop, and regulars were stopping by for light conversation with you and Shay. It was a nice feeling to know that these random strangers would come by so often just to drink the tea you made, and chat with you like you were old friends. Who would’ve thought so many villagers and travelers would gravitate towards such a small shop out by the wall? Now, customers frequently were stating how much they wished for new types of teas to try so that they could try something fresh and exciting. You would always tell them that you were getting close to being able to go beyond the walls, and that everyone would know when she was leaving to travel. Many people also commented on the cleanliness of the little shop, and you had to give that one to the short, neat freak who came in every evening. Then finally, as the sun was setting, and the amount of people to the shop reduced for the evening, Shay approached you before he left to go home. 

“With today’s money, we have enough saved up for your first expedition.” He said, his hoarse voice strained from talking all day with a hint of excitement.

“Really? Already?” You asked excitedly, not sure how to contain your emotions.

“Yes, really. I would like you to go this weekend. Here is the money you will need to buy rations.” He handed you a bag. “I do not know what you will find beyond the walls, but I do hope that whatever you do find, you can bring back with you.” 

“Of course, Shay. I’m really honored. I’ll rent the ODM gear and supplies tomorrow and get all ready to go the day after. I should be back then in five days. Thank you! I can’t wait to show you what I find.” You then thought of something, “Are you going to have your grandson help you while I’m gone?” 

“Yes, the kid surely isn’t as quick or hard-working as you, but he’ll do for the moment. I’ll put up a sign that says ‘Short-Staffed. Take it or Leave it’.” You chuckled and Shay paused for a moment, deep in thought. “Stay safe out there. You never know what you’ll find beyond the walls.” 

“Don’t worry about me Shay. I know what I’m doing.” You clenched your hand into a fist and lightly punched his shoulder, but not enough for him to move from it. With that, the old man chuckled and gave you a nod, exiting the shop to let you keep manning it. 

_At least I think I know what I’m doing._

Finally, your nerves were starting to impact you. You thought about it. Never going beyond the walls before, but now going because it was safer, you had no idea what was waiting for you after you crossed through the brick barrier. You had fought against titans and lived, and you were highly skilled with your blades and ODM gear. You were fast thinking, and strong.

_You know what, I do know what I’m doing._

Now you just had to tell Levi what was going on. You sighed, knowing that it would be an uncomfortable conversation, since he would probably tell you that you were a dumbass for going beyond the walls by yourself. 

The last few weeks, you’d grown used to him coming into the store, sharing a few words with each other, and then him cleaning and leaving. The only days you didn’t see him were the two days you had off each week, and you would usually spend those grabbing a drink with old friends or taking time for yourself at home. You did notice yourself enjoying the time you spend with him each night, the little quips back and forth, quietly and secretly watching each other’s movements, a few chaste moments where you would brush into each other unfortunately sending butterflies to your stomach. The original tension you had with each other seemed to cool more and more as he kept coming back, and you found yourself becoming comfortable with his strong presence there. When you had your days off, you found yourself wondering what he was up to, even though you tried not to. Little did you know how often he spent thinking about you as well.

So, when you saw his slim figure appear from the doorway, you wasted no time. He was dressed in a semi-loose long sleeve gray top where his collar bones were exposed, and tight black pants. For a second your mouth went dry thinking about your hands grazing his collarbones and shook your head. You swallowed and looked away to talk to him, trying to put your thoughts about how attractive he looked out of your mind. He noticed your weird movements but ignored them and went to sit down at a table near the fireplace. Then you began.

“So, I’m leaving in two days, and won’t be here for the next few nights after that. You’re going to have to take a short tea break, so you better enjoy this one.” You said, handing him his usual. His eyebrows raised slightly, and his light eyes bore into yours. 

“Oh? A romantic getaway with your boyfriend maybe?” He said inquisitively, one finger raised up to his chin, his other reaching out for the cup. He didn’t drink it yet.

“You flatter me. My non-existent boyfriend and I are going to have a great time.” You chuckled and sat down at the same table as him. “But no, I’m going outside the walls to find more plants for our tea. We’ve made enough money in the last month for me to do it, and customers are starting to want more.” You noticed as you were speaking his eyebrows were coming together and his silver eyes narrowed, red and orange from the fire flickering in them, his mouth curled into more of a snarl.

“You’re so fucking naïve.” His usually calm voice turned into a deep hiss. “Do you even realize how dangerous it is to go out there alone?” He stood up and slammed his hands on the table, making you jump, and his mug shook enough to have some liquid come down the sides. You’d never seen him this angry before, the outburst was totally unlike his usual cool and collected composure.

The words he spat at you made your skin crawl and your face red; you were enraged. What did he think you were? A child? 

“Excuse me? What the fuck Levi? Calling me naïve... Shut the hell up.” You stood up to confront him, inches away from his face. “I know I’m not ‘humanity’s strongest’ but I can handle myself just fine. I’m a grown woman, not some helpless child. I’m going to use ODM gear to get around, and I know how to kill Titans if I see one! Plus, you knew I was going to do this since that second day at the shop!” Your voice was increasingly loud, and you were ready to slap him. If you did, you’re sure he was angry enough to kill you, but at least you would get to hit him once before death and that was enough for you to rest happy.

The whites of his eyes grew, and you could feel his deep heavy breathing from where you stood. You noticed his hands were also slightly shaking. His whole presence was making you uneasy, his anger reminded you of your own, intense and unyielding. 

“Not just anybody can use ODM gear, especially not some tea shop worker. Plus, it’s not just titans out there, robbers, murderers, traffickers lay in wait for easy prey like you. Do you have a death wish? And I didn’t think you were going alone.” You sighed, and decided it was time to tell him. It’s not like he can get any more pissed off at you.

“First, I’m not just some tea shop worker. I’m F/N L/N, retired Major of the Garrison under Commander Pyxis, under Captain Rico’s second squadron, Captain.” You said the last word with as much anger as you could muster, and you put your fist on your chest to salute him. The whites of your knuckles were showing. His face changed to give a slight look of shock this time, his eyes widened and his mouth opened a bit. You didn’t give him any time to respond before you continued. 

“Second, maybe I do have a death wish. I’d rather die doing something I have always dreamed of, than dying slowly while sitting on my ass, never really living! Why do you think I picked this job? Also, I just told you that I've wanted to explore my whole life. AND easy prey?! Don’t insult me.” You could smell the chamomile on his breath, not breaking eye contact with him for a second. 

“Third, why the fuck do you even care about it? You’ve made it very clear that we aren’t friends. I can tell from your shitty attitude towards me that you don't give a flying shit what I do with my life. So why are you acting like this?!”

“Will you just shut up for a moment? You stupid brat.” He said quietly, his eyes stared into yours, and his previously shaking right hand gently touched your waist. 

_Wait. What is he doing? Why is he touching me?_

His fingers on your waist sent a chill through your body unwillingly. You didn’t want to admit to yourself that you actually liked the feeling of the pressure of his hands on you there. He sighed as his anger seemed to slowly fade away from him, you could see his expression soften as his eyes became more half-lidded and his speech went back to normal.

“Look. I’ve seen a lot of people die in my shitty existence.” Your mouth parted slightly in shock. That was the most vulnerable thing you’ve ever heard him say, most of the time you didn’t touch on deeper subjects in your conversations. He continued. “I can’t accept that as your fate too. Not yet. But I know I can’t stop you.” His eyes tore away from yours and he pulled your waist closer to his, only centimeters away from each other now. Kissing distance. You could see conflict in his eyes, his emotions were impossible to predict. You bit your lip slightly as you looked at him, wondering if he was going to make the first move. Even though he bothered the shit out of you, the thought of his lips on yours made goosebumps crawl up your skin. Instead, he sighed and closed his eyes, pushing you away from him, releasing his grip on your waist, and you missed his firm touch immediately. “I will say this. You better come back alive. I know I’m not your captain, but that’s an order. Plus, I expect a new tea when you get back.” 

The words settled into your brain and you tried to push the image of the two of you kissing out of your head. It was obvious he cared about you enough to tell you something so personal, but why didn’t he make a move? What was happening to you? You had despised this man not that long ago and now you were wondering what his lips tasted like. Some of the things he said still could set you off so easily, and he wasn’t a very nice person.

_Fuck me. Why am I attracted to you? Why was there tension in the air now? Why did you have to touch me like that Levi? We were fine before, and now it’s weird. I would rather be arguing than standing here awkwardly. Did he do this just to make me uncomfortable? That would be a massive dick move._

You could feel yourself spiraling for a moment. Maybe now was a good time to leave, before anything happened to make things between you and Levi even weirder. 

“I’ll be fine.” Your voice had a chill through it as you spoke now. “I understand that you don’t think I can hold my own, but if we’re going to keep doing whatever this is, you’re going to need to trust me.” He nodded in acceptance, also not wanting to acknowledge the sudden change in the mood, and you both continued your night as usual. This time, he asked a few questions about you while he was cleaning, like which Cadet Corps you graduated from, which battles you fought and what Trost was like for you, and then the hardest question for you to answer.

“Why the Garrison? You said you wanted to go beyond the walls. Did you get scared?” _Did I get scared? Do you want to piss me off again?_ His tone bothered you. It almost sounded like he was shaming you for not being in the scouts, but you also expected this from him. 

“More like my mother did, for good reason. My father was in the scouts, and so was my older brother. One day, both of them didn’t return home. I was just a little girl, I can remember moments with them, but I can’t remember that day at all. I think my brain tried to push those memories out so I could move on. Mum grieved for the rest of her life though, she tried to hide it but every night I could hear her crying. Her grief overwhelmed her, made her lose her mind.” You paused and set down what you were doing. Looking up at the ceiling, your voice grew quieter. “One day when I was still young and stupid, I told her I wanted to become a cadet, and then join the Survey Corps so I could explore the world, and she said that if I did, I could never return home. I broke her heart even more that day. She said that she couldn’t bear the same pain of losing a child again, so she’d rather disown me than see me dead. When she said that, it changed my perspective, so I gave up my childish dream to stay close to the woman who raised me and had gone through hell. I thought that after I retired, I could explore then, and hopefully the risk of death wasn’t as high. And that’s what I’m trying to do now.” 

Levi looked at you, expressionless. You were worried for a moment that he thought of you as a coward, that you let someone else pick your fate for you. In his mind, he thought of his own mother, Kuchel, and how he would do anything for her if she were still alive. He understood your choice and respected it. Unaware of this, his calm answer surprised you.

“Understood. You’re right about the risk of death not being as high. If you were in the scouts when we retook Shiganshina, you would be dead right now.” Ouch, a little harsh, but he was right.

“How did you survive that Levi?” You said softly, your voice barely a whisper, not realizing you said it loud enough for him to hear it. Shit, it’s too soon to ask such a personal question. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer that, I didn’t me-”

“It’s fine.” Then you saw it, his face became sullen. He looked down and turned his head away from you, trying to hide his emotions, but you could hear it in his voice.  
“Commander Erwin, and all of the newest recruits, made a sacrifice for me. They all rode to their deaths, so I could defeat the Beast Titan. I sent that bastard straight to hell.” He  
looked up and stared right into your eyes; you could tell he was trying to hold back as much emotion as possible. “Only because of them am I alive.” He turned his gray eyes downward and mashed his teeth together, trying to calm down.

Without even thinking, you closed the space between you and wrapped him up in a hug. Even though you weren’t sure what the hell was going on between the two of you, you wouldn’t be afraid to give a hug to someone who needed comforting. This short, stoic man definitely needed this, and you realized he probably never received a lot of hugs in his life. He tensed up for only a moment, surprised at your softness, and then he wrapped his arms around you as well. You could feel the heat radiating from his skin, and you could hear his shallow breaths as he tried to regain his composure again. Softly you spoke to him.

“I know it doesn’t make a hell of difference to you, but I’m glad you’re still alive Levi.” At that, he gripped you tighter, and both you stood there in an embrace, holding each other close, neither of you ready to let go. Finally, he did after what felt like hours. As soon as he let go, you wished he didn’t. “I’m just saying, no one else could take your place as the resident pain in my ass.” That got a small smile to curl at the corners of his lips.

“Thanks brat. I’ll let you finish what you need to, you should get home early tonight. Good luck.” And with that, he walked out the door. You touched the skin lightly that his arms wrapped around with your hug, and the place where his hand met your waist earlier. No matter how hard you tried to fight it, you were starting to get a soft spot for the ex-captain. You were already excited for the first time you would see him after coming back from your trip, showing him a new tea, bickering about what was good or bad, talking about the things you’d seen. It was a slightly exciting thought. 

If only you could know what events would spiral from you leaving to chase your childish dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to those leaving kudos and commenting on this fic! It really makes me feel more motivated to write each week, especially when I'm not feeling in the mood or am having a "meh" day. 
> 
> Also, thanks for hanging in there through these more uneventful chapters. But reader gets to go on her adventure in the next chapter! It's time for some crazy shit to go down. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) The next chapter and one after will have significant content warnings so please read those beforehand.
> 
> Goodnight to all my lovely Levi simps, may you have sweet, sweet dreams about our short king.


	4. Expedition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE GOT ACTION SO WE GOT CONTENT WARNINGS! PLEASE READ THEM. 
> 
> CW: Injuries, blood, mentions of sexual assault and (kind of) attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, and usual canon violence like guns, blades, etc. Plus, there's a lot of peril and general suspense.

Two days later was your first journey outside the walls. You already had your rented ODM gear ready and had bought the supplies you needed yesterday, so you were prepared for the journey. You had food, water, a journal, a plant encyclopedia, extra clothes, a blanket, firestarter, and your trusty horse, Anmut.

Excitement coursed through every inch of you as you finalized putting together everything you needed. Going to your closet, you put on a tan jacket with a plain wall insignia on it, symbolizing you were a regular short-term traveler outside the walls. This meant that if any of the Scouts saw you, they would let you continue your journey without giving you a hard time. You walked out of your apartment, and down to the nearby stables. You collected your horse and loaded her up with all your gear, before saddling up and taking her to the checkpoint at Wall Maria. 

You knew exactly where you were going to go first, you had your sights set towards the west. The Scouts had reported that the temperature was warm and sunny there, compared to the chill that saturated the air here. That meant it would be perfect for finding more plants and other flora for tea.

You approached the checkpoint and showed them your identification as the guards checked your ODM gear. After a bit of chatting and them asking you a few questions about the direction you were heading, the guard nodded and let you through. As soon as he did, you were off. 

Gently hitting the sides of your legs into your horse, you started on a gallop through the grassy fields ahead of you. Strands of your hair flew behind you and the crisp breeze made your nose turn red. The expanse of land before you would intimidate most people, but not you. You’d been waiting your entire life for this moment, and finally were doing what you’d always dreamed of. You would’ve shouted out to the bright sky, but you knew you weren’t entirely in the clear, titans could still be around. There were much fewer of them around now but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Plus, some of Levi’s words echoed in your mind. 

_“There are other things besides titans that could kill you.”_

You knew he was talking about traffickers and robbers, but you did feel capable in your skills enough to know how to defend yourself against anyone who tried to hurt you. Shit, you gave humanity’s strongest soldier a bloody nose.

\--

It had been the end of the first day and you had found three plants that looked like they could work for teas. You looked them up in your flora book, paying close attention to the number of leaves, the colors, the color of the root, and making sure it was edible of course. Then, you would pick as many of them as you saw in that small area. Tonight, you would try a couple of the ones you had found, being careful to use as little of the plant as you needed to taste it. 

The first tea you tried had a certain spice to it, warming your tongue and stomach as you drank it. The plant used for it was a root called cinnamon. This was one good option and would be even better mixed with fruit.

You made a note of it in your journal and tried the next one. This was more of a fruity looking plant, and so you took the peel and grinded it down to extract a small amount of oil. It was very floral tasting, and you decided it might be a good addition to black tea. You made a note that the plant was bergamot. 

You tried the last one, and it straight up tasted like shit. Even if something was edible, it didn't mean it tasted good. It was a flower with purple leaves, a peony. You spit it out of your mouth and tossed it. Tomorrow you would try to replant the ones you had taken. 

While poking through your bag, you noticed a light pink flower you pulled from the ground that smelled like candy, your book referred to it as “the sweetly scented killer” which paralyzed whoever decided to ingest it. For some reason, you decided to keep it. In a way you found it strangely poetic that something so beautiful and delicate could kill so easily. A plant without consciousness, still able to retaliate against a foe. 

Realizing that you had your fire going for a bit longer than you wanted, you closed back up your bag, packed it up quickly, and headed for the trees. That would be the safest way to sleep for the night. No titans could reach you there, and the odds were extremely low that any humans could find you there unless they were already looking. Using your ODM gear as a backup, you shot the hooks into a couple of higher branches and gave them a tug. It was a precaution in case you fell out of the tree as you slept. The ODM gear was heavy on your body, but you had been used to the feeling of it after years of service. After securing yourself, you felt a bit better. As you tried to fall asleep, you couldn’t help but picture Levi back within the walls, having to make his own tea and cursing at it; the thought made a smile crawl across your face as your eyes closed to darkness.

\--

When you woke up the next morning, you were still on the branch, and your ODM hooks were still in the tree limbs above you. Your horse was still tied to a nearby tree below, but at the base of where you slept were two 5-meter titans, one female and one male. You sighed and stood up, giving your arms and legs a little stretch before pulling your hooks out of the branches above you and looking down. 

_Easy._

In one swift motion, you pulled out two sharpened blades, and used your ODM gear to swing behind the two titans, effortlessly using your arms to slice the nape of one right after another. Cutting them open left their steaming hot blood on your skin only for a moment before evaporating. You swung back up to the trees and looked at their decaying bodies below you, the awful smell of death and blood wafting through the air. Waiting for a few moments to make sure there weren’t others, you quickly changed from your sleeping clothes to your regular clothes with the same tan jacket as yesterday. No other titans were coming, so you used your ODM gear to get back to the ground, grabbed your horse, and set on the road quickly. 

As you travelled, you admired the gorgeous landscape, sparkling blue lakes with fish in them, rolling green and yellow hills, filled with tall grasses that begged to be ran through, and rivers that cut through the land, harsh, but beautiful at the same time. Today has been an amazing day for foraging. You had found interesting mushrooms, roots, and flowers, and tonight you were so excited to try them. 

Realizing it was starting to get dark, you set a course to return home. Tomorrow was your last day to explore outside the walls, and your rations were only enough for one more day. You were expected to still come back tomorrow for closing in the evening, so you had to make a plan of action. Finding what looked like a safe forested spot to rest, you quickly checked the surrounding area for titans and humans and spotted none. On the first day of travelling, you spotted a few other explorers, all in groups of three, only one usually having ODM gear. Today, you spotted no other people. 

Taking out the various plants you collected today, you tried them each one by one. Out of all of them, the best options were a shitake mushroom tea, a dandelion root tea, and a wild rose tea. The rose tea was your favorite out of all three, and you could already tell it would be one of the most popular in the store. Usually, red roses were a sign of royalty, uncommon in the outer walls, so the wild rose was exciting to find. The floral scent of it reminded you of Levi, and your heart skipped a beat. It had only been four nights of not seeing him, and you kind of missed him. His little quips, his sarcastic tone, and you actually longed to bicker with him again. Sighing and trying to push him out of your head, you sat slowly enjoying the tea, and heard a tree branch snap somewhere behind you. 

Frozen for a moment, your eyes opened wide in fear. Then convincing yourself to move, you placed your cup down, spilling it, and your hands grabbed the triggers of your ODM gear, preparing to propel yourself upwards. 

_I checked all around this area. There was no one here. Who the hell is this?_

For a second, you wondered if it was Levi, here to give you the shock of your life, but then you heard a soft click and a raspy voice. Someone was already behind you, and you could already tell from their musty smell that it definitely wasn’t him. 

_Fuck._

“Hands up.” You didn’t budge, your hand still firmly placed on your blade, your mind trying to think of an escape plan. “I’m not a patient man, and you brought a blade to a gunfight.” A cool barrel of a gun was then pressed into the back of your head and even though every ounce of your body told you not to, you released your hands from the gear and put your hands up. The man spoke again. “That’s better. Now, why would a regular woman be out here all alone? Don’t you know it isn’t very safe beyond the walls at night? I see you do have some of that ODM gear though…” He trailed off as he looked at your gear and horse.

You stayed silent, unsure of if he wanted you to really answer. You were careful to not show him any fear, breathing deeply to resist your body shaking, your eyes looking straight ahead, and instead of keeping them wide, you forced them to look more relaxed. In your heart you wanted to curse, to scream, but your brain knew he would pull the trigger. Then he spoke again, his voice close to yelling. 

“I asked you a question _bitch!_ ” 

“There’s no need for language.” The tone of your voice was as cool as the air surrounding you, even though you were seething mad and scared shitless. He pressed the cool metal against your head even stronger, feeling it dig into your scalp. “I’m just an employee of a tea merchant. This ODM gear is my bosses and he let me borrow it so I could explore around and find more teas. If you’re here to rob me, don’t have any money on me, just plants and rations.” In your heart you knew that partial lie wasn’t going to fly with him. He could steal your horse, your ODM gear, and leave you stranded out in the middle of nowhere. You needed to think fast. Hopefully, this bandit was as dumb as a sack of shit.

“What I’m looking for isn’t just money.” He said with a chill, one hand moving your hair away from your neck, still standing behind you. “I’ll take you first, and then take everything else. Oh, and don’t even think about running or having a fit. I won’t hesitate to blow your brains out.” Your heart raced and you tried to remain calm, realizing that you had to think even faster now.

“Okay. I’ll give you whatever you want. No fits. No running.” You stated calmly, trying to not lose your cool, as you knew that would only egg on the attacker more. He wanted you to fear him. “Can I please just have one last request? Please. It might sound stupid, but if I’m going to die tonight, I really want to drink my favorite type of tea. If you do that, I’ll make this whole thing even sweeter for you.” You said the last sentence with a sweet and almost sultry voice, trying to convince him to unwillingly fall into your newly developing plan. 

“Hmmm, sweeter huh? Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Don’t move.” You did as he asked, and he bound your arms tightly with a rope, still standing behind you. “Now stick out your legs.” You did as he asked and he bound those too. “Now tell me which one of these is the one you’re talking about.” You nodded and pointed your head down to your satchel.

“Towards the bottom of the bag, in a smaller bag, is a light pink flower. It smells amazing, and I keep it away from the other plants to not co-mingle their scents. This flower is truly something else. If you want to feel like a god, it does that, if you want to be calm, it’ll do that for you. I only save it for special occasions, and it’s extremely rare. I was going to take it back to try and grow more, so I could sell it’s magic to people.” You felt like a salesperson spouting off lie after lie, you just hoped you were convincing enough. The man walked in front of you now, the gun still pointed at you, and now you could see his face. He was very tall with tousled gray and dark brown hair; his eyes were so dark his irises almost looked black. Deep scars were scattered all over his face, like he had been badly beaten and slashed multiple times in the past, and you noticed they were spotted on his arms as well. There was also a large tattoo on his right arm, with a symbol that you didn’t recognize. You tried not to look at his marks too much, knowing that it could set him off. Instead, you gazed straight into his eyes, trying to stay as calm as possible in this moment. You even were able to manage faking a smile through your internal screaming.

He gave a slight chuckle and grazed your chin with his rough fingers. You tried to not recoil from him so you could play into your act more, even though your mind was shouting _“get the fuck away from me!”_ He picked up your bag and searched around for the flower in it. The pink bloom was now in his hands, and you gave a big smile. 

You looked at him, and continuing your calmest and naturally sweetest voice you said,  
“Okay now, you want to take off the flower petals, leaves, stems, and put them in the pot of boiling water above the fire. We want the full effect.” He did as you said. As he wasn’t looking, you peered around, looking for anyone else, but all you could see in the forest surrounding you was darkness. You also slowly attempted to wiggle your way out of the bindings, but they were tight against your skin, so much so your fingertips were tingling and losing color quickly. Unfortunately, he still had the gun too, dangerously pointed at your face if you tried anything. But, if you could get him to drink the tea, he would lose nerve function instantly and begin to collapse. You could crawl over to your bag, take your knife out, and cut yourself free before killing him.

_Stupid fucking bandit, oh, and rapist. Trying to take advantage of women before stealing shit from them? You're scum. You deserve everything that's about to come to you._

The bandit looked at you for your next instructions. 

“Okay, now that we’ve let it steep in there, now you have to strain it and pour it into both our cups.” 

“Oh, I’m drinking it with you?” His face looked solemn now, one arm crossed in front of him.

“I think that’s only fair; I’m sure you wish to feel amazing, right? Plus, there’s so much of it, it shouldn’t get wasted.” You said, giving him a small smile, laying on the charm as thick as possible. 

“How do I know this isn’t a fucking trick? Also, how the fuck are you so damn calm?” He was suddenly aggressive now, his mood flipping like a switch as he stood up and put the gun closer to your face. Mustering up as much courage as you could, adrenaline pumped through your veins as you prepared to lie to him again; the words sounded unfamiliar to you as they fell out of your mouth as gracefully as you could make them.

“Why do you think I’m out here all alone? Without a man? Without anyone to protect me? Have you ever thought that maybe... I wanted this...” You hated yourself as you said the venomous words, making your own skin crawl. The attacker’s eyes widened as he realized what you just implied. You hoped he wasn’t going to get too excited. “Also, I’ll drink it with you, I told you, I wanted this to be my drink of choice for a reason. Of course, after this, you don’t really have to kill me, I could stay with you for as long as you would like.” You tilted your head and shrugged, praying that he would believe you. 

“Wow, what a crazy whore you are, with a crazy idea to match. I’ll think about not killing you, but no promises though.” And you gave a smile sigh of relief when he finally poured the tea into two glasses. 

He handed you a cup while your bindings were still on, and then himself one and watched as you blew on the edge of it, trying to get it to cool down. Your hands were cramping up from the lack of blood flow, but you had to push through the discomfort to do this. You looked at the light-colored water and held your breath, the steam could hurt your lungs. Taking a fake sip your lips touched the water and you tilted the cup a bit to hide your mouth. You felt your lips tingle and start to slowly go numb as you pretended to drink the poisonous tea. Luckily, your captor took the bait, as you looked over you saw him take a few large gulps of the liquid after blowing a few times, barely giving it any time to cool down. Suddenly, he dropped his cup, the metal and liquid flew to the ground with a clatter. He looked up at you bewildered, his eyes filled with fury as he realized what you had done as he felt his body begin to tingle and go numb starting with his mouth.

“Wha- what.... the... f-fuck...?,” He started slurring his words as he stared at you, and then he slowly pulled the trigger of the gun, letting it go off. Your ears were ringing loudly from the shot. 

_Shit! That was loud you idiot!_

Luckily, his grip was starting to slip, his aim was way off, and you easily dodged where the bullet went by hopping your body as far as you could to the right. The gun then fell from his hands onto the grass below. He stood up and tried to run to you, stumbling as he put his hands around your neck and tried to squeeze. Only his strength was almost all gone, so it felt like him just holding the sides of your neck as he trembled. You laughed right at his face. 

“What?! Can’t get it... u-up?!” You shouted insults at him, even though your lips felt numb. “T-that’s... okay...No one wants your... t-tiny.... shrimp... dick-k!” Even though your words slurred a bit, you could tell it still got to him. Your sultry smile from before turned devilish, starting to laugh maniacally now as he dropped to the ground his eyes growing wider and wilder. 

“Y-you... e-evil... cunt-t.” He said once before his black eyes rolled into the back of his head and he passed out. You didn’t take much time to revel in his misery.

_I need to work fast. I don’t know if that was enough to kill him, or just incapacitate him for a bit. Plus, that gunshot alerted anyone nearby that there was trouble. Shit. Shit. Shit._

Getting down on the ground you crawled on your elbows and knees to your bag. Using your knees to prop yourself up, your bound hands opened your bag and rummaged around in it. Then you saw the glint of silver coming from the hilt of the blade and put it in your mouth. It was harder to hold it there than you thought, mostly because you couldn’t feel your lips still. Lifting your arms, you sawed the blade back and forth until finally you broke free from the binds. You stretched your fingers for a moment, feeling the blood rush back through them before quickly using your newly freed hands to cut your legs free. Then, you turned your attention to the man on the ground in front of you and grabbed his gun. 

_I should kill him with my blade, just to be safe. I really should. He's a stain on this earth, and truly deserves death._

You raised the knife to his throat, preparing to slash it open, but then more voices coming through the trees interrupted you. You quickly used your ODM gear to fly into the trees on a higher branch to watch below. There were now two more men approaching, both very tall and muscular, with the same tattoo on their arms. But now, you had the advantage. You had incapacitated one of them and had his gun. One of these men had ODM gear though, so you didn’t have the advantage there. 

“A gunshot isn’t good. It means she fought back hard enough for him to use it.” The man with ODM gear said. “That dumb asshole needs to let us come with him in the future. I know he’s the only horny one out of the three of us but 1-on-1 is too risky. 3-on-1 is foolproof.”

“Well, here he is, is he fucking dead?” The other one said angrily as they approached his lifeless form. “Where the fuck is the woman!? We need to find her!” The ODM user walked over and took his pulse.

“It’s extremely slow, so he’s almost dead but not there yet. We’ll just have to leave him for now. You search the ground for her and I’ll search the trees. If she gets away, she’ll tell someone.” It probably would’ve been smart to try to escape, but a dark bloodlust consumed your thoughts now, convincing you to stay.

_That’s not all you fuckers, you picked the wrong ‘cunt’ to mess with. **I’m going to fucking kill you.** _

Then the one with ODM gear went up to the trees, landing on a branch about 10 feet behind you. You were hiding behind the trunk so he wouldn’t see you, and even though adrenaline was still pumping through your veins, you tried to breathe as quietly as possible, and not make any movements. It was dark up here, no moon was in the sky this evening, but by now your eyes adjusted so you could see other branches. The ODM attacker was jumping from tree to tree, scanning each one for you. As he passed your branch, the two of you made eye contact. His eyes were filled with surprise and rage, and they were met with your merciless ones. He held up the barrel of his gun, but your finger was already on the trigger, not even pausing before shooting at him. Loud ringing exploded in your ears again, and blood spattered onto your face as you heard him scream out. A dull “thump” sounded as he dropped from the sky onto the ground below, and you were certain he wouldn’t survive the fall. You used a bit of your sleeve to wipe off some of the blood on your face, but you left most of it, not having time to worry about cleanliness now. It was time to focus on the other man. 

Using your ODM gear you flew through the sky catching up to him quickly, only about 15 feet off the ground above him. But as you took out your blades and prepared to slice the man, he turned quickly and fired a shot. Instead of hitting you, it hit your gear, causing it to malfunction and for you to go flying. 

_Shit. He knew that if he shot at me, I would try to dodge it, risking it hitting my gear. He had a 50/50 chance, and it worked. I’m screwed._

You tumbled onto the ground below hard, pain shooting up the left side of your body as you felt the air leave your lungs and saw flashes of lights behind your eyes. Barely being able to breathe you started crawling around desperately scanning for your gun, but it was too far away to reach. Then a body was pressed on top of you, pinning you in the dirt below, and moving your hands behind your back to tie them up with new bindings. You struggled underneath his weight, thrashing as much as you could, but he was too strong. 

“You think you can kill my brothers, and just get away with it? _I don’t fucking think so._ ” He hissed and spat on you, then putting both your arms in one hand, he used the other one to grab your hair and shove your face into the dirt. _“You’re going to pay for this.”_ He lifted up your head again roughly and then slammed it down again, feeling blood rush to your face. Then, you felt something smash into the back of your head, and everything went dark around you as you lost consciousness. 

\--

Back inside the walls, Levi stared out at the cloudy night sky, wondering how things were going for you. In the last month he had found himself thinking about you often. He had always tried to push you out of his thoughts, keeping you away on purpose, but now, he couldn’t help himself. He knew that he had feelings for you.

In his head he knew that they weren’t reciprocated. How could they be? He had never indicated that there was something he felt for you, minus when he touched your waist or told you to survive. The strong awkwardness was apparent afterwards, and he attributed it to making you feel uncomfortable. If only he knew how conflicted your feelings were for him too.

“I feel insane. I can’t get her out of my head.” He stared down at the ground, and the cat looked back up at him with sharp yellow eyes, only letting out a small “meow.”

“Tomorrow when she comes back, I need to be honest with her. If she doesn’t feel the same, then so be it, but at least it won’t fester in my mind.” Levi crossed his arms and stared out the window, thinking about what you were doing right now. In his head he imagined you sitting by the fire, your skin glowing as you went over the day in your head, probably writing things down in a journal. A picture of you smiling popped up in his head, your eyes bright and vibrant. He closed his eyes and put his forefinger and thumb on the bridge of his nose, massaging it gently, and he felt the cat brush up against his leg. 

“You know you’re actually a wonderful listener. Probably because you can’t talk.” He paused and opened his eyes, looking back down at the feline. “But you need to stop throwing up inside the house. I keep the window open for a reason. Do it out there.” He said quietly. He went back to staring outside as images of you consumed his thoughts, planning exactly how tomorrow night would go in his head.

Unfortunately for him, he would be in for a rude awakening when you wouldn’t return that evening, leaving him to wonder what had become of your fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We went 0 to 100 real quick. Also, big oof. Reader is in a tight spot right now. She’s intelligent, quick thinking, and decisive, but one rogue bullet can just really wreck your shit. Next chapter, she’ll be even more of a badass though and it just gets more intense. Also if I missed a possible content warning, I apologize, just message me and let me know so I can edit the list!
> 
> Also I feel the need to say it, so sorry Levi was only in this one for a little bit! He’ll be back more in the next chapter and then fully back in the one after. 
> 
> Again thanks to everyone commenting, giving kudos, and bookmarking, it really makes my day when I log in and see the notifications. Plus, it gives me motivation to keep on writing! Even if you are just taking the time to read it, I appreciate that too! 
> 
> As always, good night to all my lovely readers, and I hope you have sweet dreams of our short, mysterious, and handsome man.


	5. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very dark and intense. Read the content warnings, and if need be, skip to the first hashmarks (--) if it gets to be too much for you. You can pick up from there easily, you might just have to piece some things together until the next chapter.
> 
> CW: Blood, gore, fire, a short scene with non-con touching, mentions of sexual assault, extremely graphic injury, peril, suspense, and also typical canon-violence. If I forgot anything, please let me know so I can update this asap. 
> 
> Enjoy!

When your eyes fluttered open, you didn’t have a semblance what time it was, or where you could possibly be. The windows were drawn tightly over any windows, and the room you were in was dim, cold, musty, and dead silent. The only light came from the glow of an oil lamp in the room, sending dark shadows on the wooden walls around you. You were on a wooden chair; your wrists were bound to it tightly and your ankles were tied to the legs. An intense throbbing feeling was coming from the back of your head and your side, and your face felt dirty, like blood and dirt covered it messily. You felt disgusting, feeling cold sweat all over your body from your anxiety, filth covering your face, each particle of it reminded you of your failure to escape. 

_Shit. I’m so screwed. I was so close to killing him too. I should’ve stayed out of sight, landed in front of him and shot him from the trees... and of course, the first time I go beyond the wall, the worst-case scenario happens. Fuck! I need to get out of here, fast._

You looked around the room for anything that you could use to cut yourself free but saw nothing in the emptiness around you besides your jacket which you were certain was now empty. Before you could come up with a proper plan to get out of the small hellhole, the door creaked open and there was your captor. His eyes stared at you with a mix of sadness and fury, filled with tears that he was struggling to hold back. You had murdered two of his brothers, and he looked like the only thing on his mind was vengeance.

“Where am-,” You didn’t get to finish your sentence as a sharp sting hit the side of your face, red flashed in your eyes as his fist contacted your cheekbone, hearing a loud thump at the impact. You tried to hold your breath in, stifling a cry through your pain. It wasn’t the first time you’d been punched before, so you could handle the sharp pain well. You knew better than to react, this trash would get too much enjoyment out of hurting you if he knew you were scared, similarly to the man who you first incapacitated in the woods. 

“You think I’d tell you where you are? Do you think I’m stupid?” He yelled at you, the tears welling in his eyes fell, he was close enough to where some of them dripped onto your clothes. Even though you understood his pain, and knew the horror of losing family, it didn’t make you feel any sympathy towards him whatsoever. In your eyes, he remained a monster. He continued.

“There would honestly be no point, considering no one would find you, and the fact that you’ll be moved again soon. I'm also not going to tell you who I am, in case you're wondering. But I know all about you F/N L/N, retired member of the Garrison. You weren’t just some random woman out there alone. Which explains how you could take down my brothers and why you had ODM gear." He paused and curled his mouth into a dark smile. "Now, you’re going to suffer this time, slowly, and painfully. Luckily, I know someone in the underground who’ll pay good money for a fresh face, a strong will, and a healthy body like yours. He’s a customer who likes it very rough, so many of the victims we bring to him don’t last very long. I’m sure someone with your spitfire would satisfy him for at least a few months. The ones that fight back are his favorite, and he makes sure to give them extra special treatment. Plus, I’ll want to check in frequently, just to hear your screams.” 

_Damn, so he took my identification, is going to sell me to some sadistic rich bastard and is going to move me soon to make it harder for someone to find me. Shit. Stay fucking calm. Stay **fucking** calm._

He brought his face closer to yours so you could stare right into his dark eyes. The scowl on your face grew as he talked, and you were glad you could speak freely. 

“So, you’re going to sell me to some creep in the underground? How original.” You were so angry you felt yourself spit down at his feet. “I was honestly expecting shittier. Surviving nights with disgusting men doesn’t scare me.” It was a lie though; you were scared at the idea of being sold. Honestly, you would rather die here fighting for all you had in this dark room, then see yourself become a slave destined to spend your last months of life tortured, making you forget what happiness felt like. 

You thought about everyone back inside the walls, Shay, Levi, your best friends, and how they wouldn’t be able to find you, or have any idea of what happened, left to wonder about your fate. If Levi decided to investigate, he might be smart enough to figure out that you were taken, but there was absolutely no way he would know who the client was, or who it was that took you in the first place. At least if he found your body, he wouldn’t have to wonder what happened to you, and could give you a proper burial. All you hoped for was that it never came to either of those options. You were going to escape here, alive, no matter the cost. Then the captors touch on your skin snapped you back to earth, away from your thoughts. 

“So, you want to feel real fear bitch?” Feeling his hand wrap around your finger, you winced, anticipating what was to come next. A crack of your bones reverberated in the empty room as he took your right pointer finger and fractured it, easily, like breaking a pencil in half. You let out a cry of pain, unable to hide how badly it hurt, and your captor smiled wider, evilly. “I probably shouldn’t kill you, but I can do anything to you that isn’t going to leave a scar.”

Gearing up to break another finger, he grabbed it roughly and pulled back another one, and another one until all of them were broken. Each time you heard a pop, and felt pain course through you, unable to hold it back any longer. Hysterical now you cried out again, tears already falling from your eyes, and light sobs coming from you echoed in the dead air. 

“Not scared enough yet?” He whispered in your ear and knowing that you still needed to remain strong through your pain, you shook your head side to side, angering him. It felt like you were playing with fire, but you wanted to see how mad he could get, if he was angry enough to accidentally kill you, foiling his own plans.

His fingers dug into your skin painfully as he grabbed your chin with his hand and tilted your neck up to stare at his tarnished face. His eyes were so black with fury, you couldn’t even see the whites of his eyes. Using his other free hand, he walked his fingers down the side of your body that was bruised, feeling you squirm a bit at his touch. His face was so close to yours, and the unnerving eye contact was making you very nervous. 

“Get the fuck away from me.” You spat at him, feeling a mix of fear, anger, and discomfort at his sinister movements. He just smiled and remained there, eyes flickering onto your lips.

“As if I would listen to the mumblings of a stupid bitch. You might be fighting me now, but I can’t wait to see you break. I want you to crack so much that you crave death. That you beg for mercy.” Your eyes were wide and you felt even more fear creep into every inch of your body, making you tense as the gravity of his words sunk in. If you thought his other brother was deprived, this man was the definition of perversion.

His tongue made contact with your cheek as he grazed it upwards, licking your salty tears as you struggled to get out of his painful grip. His other fingers danced across your shirt, gliding over the buttons, starting to undo the top few revealing your collarbone. You closed your eyes and tried to picture something that made you happy, attempting to distract yourself from what you knew would come next, but surprisingly he suddenly removed his hands and mouth from you and turned to walk out of the room. You sighed in relief and opened your eyes, stunned for a moment that he didn’t continue.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not done with you yet. I just wanted a little taste of you first. Next time, I’ll bring more of my brothers, and then the real feast will begin.” 

With that, he closed the door behind him. 

When he left the room, you allowed yourself to sob for a short moment, overwhelmed at the shame you felt from his touch, and the pain radiating from your face, body, and from your hand. If you felt gross before, you felt even more disgusting now that he had put his tongue on your face and ran his hands over you. You tried to shake the image of his vile grin out of your head, needing to calm down to continue planning your escape.

Even though you had already started thinking of a loose plan, you couldn’t deny the amount of agony you were in from his brutality, and how scared you were when you thought about when he said he’d , _“be back for more and bring his friends.”_ Your skin crawled at the thought of him touching you again, and how much enjoyment he got out of your cries. No matter what though, he was not going to break you. You were not giving up. Once you escaped this tiny hell hole, you would kill him brutally and slowly, breaking all his fingers, his arms and legs, and then finally, his microscopic penis.

You also wondered how many other women this had happened to; he said his buyer went through them quickly. Whatever he meant by that saddened you, to know that so many young lives were lost for no reason, their dignity being stripped away from them, their hope lost. Whatever it took, you were going to get out of there and avenge them. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to calm down a bit, stopping your tears, and looked for what you could use to get out. 

There was one oil lamp in the room, and your mind went to the terrible idea of knocking it over and starting a fire. It would be a huge risk to your safety, and horribly painful. You would have to use your body strength to maneuver the chair over to the table to knock over the lamp, then once you set the fire the flames would burn the rope constricting your legs, horribly burning them and your feet in the process. It seemed like the rope was made from twine or jute, which does burn fairly easily. The chair itself would catch harder, but the amount of time you would have to escape from the chair after the rope burned was scarce. From there you would stand up and break the chair by slamming yourself against the wall, use your jacket to smother the flames on your body, using the pieces of wood to break a window, and escape. There was no way of knowing if this would work, every step involved a blind faith that you could somehow pull this off regardless of feeling pain you’d never experienced before.

Besides that, plan, you could really think of nothing. Your bindings left very little room for any other option, and the only free part of your body you had to use was your head. 

You weighed your options, and you knew that once he came back, there was no option of breaking free. This was your one chance. Plus, you would much rather suffer pain temporarily on your skin and be able to hopefully escape, then face whatever horrors came of you after he came back. It was like you thought earlier. Better to die here fighting for your life, then feel months of pain. Realizing what you had to do, you felt adrenaline rush through you, knowing that this was going to be truly life or death.

You waited a bit just to make sure the captor was truly gone, and then used your body weight and the balls of your feet to hobble your chair to be as close to the fire as possible. Then you brought your face as close to the oil lamp as possible, feeling the heat radiate on your skin, before swinging your head to the side and knocking it off the small table it was on. The broken oil lamp quickly spilled out as soon as it hit the ground, and the clear liquid inside became enveloped in flames. You tried to stay calm as the blaze began to envelope the nearby table, and you noticed the flames coming closer to your feet. 

_Stay calm. Stay **calm**. You can do this. You CAN **DO** THIS. You will **survive** this._

You felt the hot embers start to lick at your feet and legs and felt the heat of the fire as your boots started melting away at the bottom. When the flames and hot melted material finally touched your skin, the red-hot burning sensation was one of the worst you’ve ever felt, and totally unfamiliar to you. You’d burned your hand on a match before when you were young, but this was a thousand times more agonizing. Even though you tried to stay calm, you couldn’t help the tears that flowed out of you in response to the feeling of your flesh burning. Your body was mixed between feeling shocked at the amount of pain, and your adrenaline, as you felt a burst of energy course through your veins, reminding you of your mission. You looked down and realized that the fire was not only burning your skin, but also cutting through the rope around your legs, and using your unburned thighs you used your muscles to wiggle them enough to get the bindings loose. You stood up, feeling shaky and unstable as you fought your screaming legs; you were surprised your feet still could move with purpose. You didn’t dare look down at them right now, knowing that they probably looked horrible.

You stumbled over to the stone wall, and twisted your upper body into it, breaking part of the chair. You shouted out as your body felt the impact of the chair against it, combined with the pain in your lower body. Smoke was rapidly beginning to fill up the room, and you knew you had to work faster. You used all the strength you had to twist your body into the wall again, yelling even more to fuel your anger and will to leave, and this time, the already fractured chair shattered, leaving the chair still attached to you in pieces, but now your arms were at least free to move. You hobbled over to your jacket and grabbed it, using it to smother any remaining embers on your pants. Limping over to the nearest curtained window, you opened it to see a darkness in the sky above. It was the next evening, the night you were supposed to be back. 

With your hands shaking, you threw a piece of chair into the window, shattering the glass onto the ground below. The pain was intense as you pulled yourself through the broken window, your hands bleeding from the cuts made by the sharp glass. Looking around, you noticed that your horse was in a nearby stable with your bag still on it, and your broken gear was attached to your horse as well, thankfully it looked like everything was still there.  
When you crawled past the glass and dirt of the ground outside, you finally reached the soft grass near where your horse was. You took a moment to stare up at the sky and couldn’t help but laugh as you realized that you had actually survived. You stayed there for a bit longer than you would’ve liked, reveling at how your insane plan worked, how you were able to escape, and how you were somehow still alive even through all that.  
The abandoned home you were in was going up in flames, and smoke was now billowing from it, no doubt drawing the attention of anyone nearby. You needed to get out of there quickly, before the men came back for you. You crawled over to Anmut, and pulled yourself onto her, pushing through every ache and pain your body felt, driven only by your instincts. 

You maneuvered your horse to the cart, and pulled your gear onto the horse, barely holding on as you did, trying to shift yourself so you didn’t need to use your legs. As soon as everything was quickly situated, you lightly kicked the stirrups using only your thighs, pain shooting through your legs as you did, and you felt yourself drifting in and out of consciousness as you noticed a subtle sunrise beginning over the hill. You began to hear voices in your head. 

_“We can’t wait to hear about your trip! We’re going to miss you so much and wish we could go with you. But we know you’re too stubborn and independent. We’ll just have to hear about it over drinks when you come back!”_

Your friends.

_“Stay safe out there, and I can’t wait to try what you’ve brought back for the shop. I’m so grateful for you.”_  
Shay.

_“You better come back alive. I’m not your captain, but that’s an order.”_

Levi.

_“If you follow in the steps of your father and brother, and leave to join the scouts, you can never come home. Ever. I can’t fathom seeing another one of my babies die.”_

_Mom, dad, brother... I don’t want to be with you yet. I’m not ready._

You were trying not to lose hope, even though your survival options were now dwindling quickly. You had no idea where you were, and you weren’t strong enough to make it to the walls in your condition. As you rode, you had no idea where you were going, your sense of direction was completely shot, and you didn’t have the energy to look at your map or compass. All you knew was that you were getting as far away from that place as possible and trying to cling to life as much as you could. 

\--

It was evening as Levi approached the tea shop, hoping to see a familiar face in the darkness of the street. Furrowing his brows, he took out his silver pocket watch and noticed how increasingly late you were. This was the night you told him you’d be back, and he was expecting you, yet now that you weren’t there, he grew visibly frustrated. He didn’t know if you were late, lazy, or if it was something much darker. 

His thoughts raced back and forth as he tried to figure out what was going on, feeling helpless just waiting there for your return. He stood by for another hour, watching the stars move slowly across the sky, and thought about who you were. 

If anything, he knew you weren’t lazy. All five days you worked; you were there, diligently doing your duties. The only part of you that felt lazy was the fact that you were shitty at cleaning and convinced him to do it for you. Even still, you would obviously still do it to the best of your ability even if Levi weren’t there. No matter what, you showed up when you needed to. You proved that with your work, with the passion you felt for what you were doing. This was very uncharacteristic of you, and Levi suddenly realized that something was very wrong. 

_Shit. I need to find her. I need to know what happened._

He quietly thought to himself, mounting his horse and racing back to his house to don his familiar scouting jacket. His silver ODM blades beckoned to him in his closet, glimmering in the dark glow of his room, and he grabbed them and the rest of his gear. He ran to the stables and grabbed his horse, heading for the Wall checkpoint as quickly as he possibly could. The guard at the checkpoint was both excited and nervous to see him, especially this late at night. Usually, no one was supposed to pass through the checkpoints at night, so this guard felt conflicted at your arrival.

“Captain Ackerman!” The guard shouted to him and saluted. “What a pleasure to see you this evening. I regret to inform you that you are not allowed to pass as it is too late for visitors to go outside the walls.” Levi stared at the guard with narrow eyes, his voice deep with a twinge of annoyance.

“I order you to let me pass. A garrison member by the name of F/N L/N is out there, and I believe she’s hurt. She was supposed to return tonight but has not been seen. Have you seen her pass through here?” Levi tried to stay as formal as possible, knowing that if he was rude, the guard might not let him out. The guard shook his head. 

“They checked her through here a few days ago, and you’re right, she said she was supposed to come back today after touring around the western route. I haven’t seen her. Regardless, I still can’t let you through. My orders to keep everyone in at night comes from the Commander, so I’m sorry but your order doesn’t affect me sir.” The guard’s words felt strong, but his voice wavered, showing the slightest amount of fear. Levi saw his twinge of fear, and exploited it, leaning in close to the guard and whispering, his tone menacing.

“This is someone who I feel close to. Do you feel close to anyone? A friend... spouse... maybe a child? How would you feel if you left them stranded out there to die, let them scream for you, only to have you never come to help them because one insignificant speck of a guard was in the way? Would you hesitate to kill the guard? Because I wouldn’t.” The guard had begun shaking, his skin had a nice thin layer of sweat on it, and he started stammering.

“N-no sir. I-I wouldn’t either.” He swallowed and nodded at Levi, his tone becoming stronger. “We have a special exception visitor passing through, open the gate right now!” The guards stared at him wide eyed and confused, knowing their orders. “I SAID NOW!” The main guard shouted frantically, making the others jump into action. They opened it for Levi and he gave a quick grunt and a thanks as he mounted back on his horse.

He raced through the hills and forests following the western route, pushing his horse to the limit as he furiously tried to find you. Levi was a master at tracking, and with the bright moonlight he could quickly find the marks you left as you had gone through your journey. By noticing how many of the fields and bushes he passed were void of their flowers and stems, leaving only the roots, he was able to figure out your path until he noticed the flower picking stopped. By then, it was bright outside, the sun shining in the sky as he travelled through the night to find you.

_If I were a clever young woman without a cart to pull a tent, where would I sleep?_

His silver eyes scanned the horizon, and he noticed a small dark forest of trees in the distance. Deciding to investigate he came to where you had been camping out at night and came across a horrifying scene.  
As his eyes scanned through the trees, he saw the remains of your fire, and the decaying dead body of the man you had poisoned. Levi dismounted his horse and kneeled down to look closer at the man, noticing his large tattoo.

“Not this filth. I’ve seen them before in the underground. Shit.” He muttered quietly. Then he saw the other body on the ground and walked over to it. It looked like by gunshot wound and the way their bones were splayed out, plus their busted up ODM gear, that they had fallen from the high branches above. Levi took a moment to marvel at your ability to kill these men. He could already tell from your actions that you were a brave fighter but being able to truly take someone’s life took a grit that few people above ground possessed. 

Then he came to the final scene, of what looked like the outline of a body in the dirt. He could make out footprints besides the form, meaning that someone stood over the person on the ground, and felt himself tense up, and his eyes dropped. He could tell there was a bit of a struggle, but since there was no corpse, he assumed it was your form. 

“Dammit. They got her alive.” He said as he followed the footsteps of the captor to cart tracks, which lead up to a large field. As Levi began to wander the field, losing the tracks, he noticed pillars of smoke rising to the sky in the distance, and knew that was not just a coincidence. He raced as fast as he could to the source of the smoke, and to his dismay, when he got there the cabin was already engulfed in complete flames and now only a black shell remained. He stared up at the skeleton of the structure, his jaw tightly clenched, and his silver eyes focused intently, realizing there was a slim chance you made it out of there alive.

_Did you do this? Are you still in there, or did you escape?_

He thought to himself, starting to scan the surroundings for any sign of life. Before he could search the area fully, he heard men yelling loudly as they approached the cabin on horseback, all of them having the same tattoos as the men from before. To avoid them, Levi hid behind a nearby group of bushes, quietly observing them. Their loud, harsh voices reverberated through the field and Levi could smell the stench of their bloodlust from where he hid. It made his blood boil.

“That fucking bitch!” 

“How could she escape?!” 

“Find her, she can’t be far, plus she has to be injured!” 

“If you find her, kill her, do whatever with her, I don’t fucking care, but make sure she doesn’t get away! Show her no mercy! This woman killed two of our own!”

At the sight of the men and overhearing what they said, the whites of Levi’s eyes grew, leaving little of his irises as a furious grip held onto him. Whatever sense of morals that held him back before were absent now, feeling consumed by a blinding rage to hurt those who wanted to kill you. 

He stood up on his horse, and before the men even knew what hit them, he was slicing through them in the blink of an eye, spinning wildly around the area that surrounded the house, using the bare bones of the house to propel himself towards each of the men. Before they could even react, he was cutting them down without wavering. The last thing they saw was a flash of his jet-black hair, a silver blade, and their own dark red blood as he sliced open their soft flesh. Using his own precise technique, he would cut at the limbs, making it so that they bled out slowly and painfully, their deaths would not come mercifully. Just like what they said had said about killing you. 

There was only one he spared who stared up at him from the ground, eyes wet with tears as he started sobbing. 

“P-please don’t kill me, I’ll give you whatever you want!” Levi roughly grabbed the man by his neck and hoisted him up in the air as high as he could. The man coughed as he gasped for air, Levi’s hand was constricting his air flow.

“I want answers.” He said coolly before throwing the man back down into the ground, the sound of bones snapping as he did. The man coughed as air filled his lungs, he nodded to Levi softly, small sobs coming from his mouth.

“I’ll tell you anything!”

“Where is she? The woman that was captured?” 

“I don’t kno-,” but before he could finish, Levi’s foot connected to the man's mouth, sending a couple of yellow teeth and blood flying through the air. 

“You’re lying. I won’t repeat myself.” Levi said calmly, still lifting his leg for the next kick.

“I swear! I swear! Kiernan left her there to go get us, and we were going to take her to the underground. A client was going to buy her there! But when we arrived here, the cabin was already like this! Please, don’t kill me.” Levi stared at the man in disgust.

“Who is this client?” 

“I-I don’t know! I promise! They don’t tell us lower ranks who the buyers a-are, just use us to get the merchandise! I answered all your questions so please... mercy!”

“Merchandise? Is that what these lives are to you? Profit?” Levi’s frustration was bubbling over, making him lose his already fracturing composure. His voice was dark, seething with vengeance. “Soulless pigs like you don’t deserve mercy. I’ve haven’t seen your particular brand of shit for a long time, but I’d recognize it anywhere. Stealing women and children in the underground, murdering innocent people. I know none of you are without blood on your filthy hands. You don’t deserve to even breathe another breath. Unless it’s in hell.” And with that he shoved his blade into the man’s lungs, killing him instantly. 

Levi sighed, trying to quell his rage and took his blade out of the man, wiping blood off it quickly before concealing it again. He mounted his horse and started searching the area for any sign of you, desperately hoping to find you still alive. No matter how hard he tried not to think about it, all he could picture was finding your battered body somewhere, out here alone. Another life he was unable to save, adding to the already long list of fallen people close to him. If that were the case, he would never get to tell you the truth about his feelings. He would never get to see your smile again. The thought killed him inside, it made him feel hollow and low. 

He decided to search through the trees in his gear to get a wider view of the area, and finally he saw another horse. He descended through the trees to it and noticed there was no rider, only bags on it which he opened to observe smaller bags filled with plants and other supplies, and a set of ODM gear with a gunshot in it. 

“Shit. This must be hers. She’s close.” He whispered softly to himself as he continued to search the area and came across a small stream. He prepared himself for the worst as he saw you laying on the muddy bank, face down next to the water, with the lower part of your legs submerged. 

He shouted out your name, running towards you, but you were out cold. He knelt next to you and propped you up, desperately feeling for a pulse through your clammy skin. It was there, but it was slow and weak. Levi realized that with the extent of your injuries and mental state, that you were most likely in shock. 

As he scanned your torso for any cuts, gunshot wounds or stabs, he noticed your face was almost unrecognizable. Light gray ashes, dried blood, and mud covered most of your skin, the only pieces of your epidermis were revealed through streaks of tears cutting through the grime like tiny rivers. He held you in his arms for a brief moment, staring down at your broken form, stunned that you were still clinging to life.

“Fuck. You’re actually alive. You did it. You escaped.” He whispered again as he felt a sense of hope come back to him, re-energized by the thought of you being able to live another day. Effortlessly, he hoisted you up in his arms and whistled for his horse. As he put you on first, he noticed the cuts on your hands, blood still seeping out of them, and the bruises on your fingers from the hand that was broken. Then when he looked down, he saw the dark melted boots on your legs and feet, and saw the charred skin poking out through a few holes, he noticed muscles were protruding through the blackened skin, and his lips parted in shock. Levi winced as he touched your unbruised cheek tenderly, his heart hurting as he imagined everything you've been through. He got on his horse and rode it over to yours, tying it to his so it would follow the two of you. As he set off to somewhere nearby for safety, he spoke softly to you, regardless of if you could hear him or not. 

“I’m sorry, I wish I could’ve gotten to you sooner. But I’m here with you now... So please stay with me. I _need_ you to stay with me. You were strong enough to survive through all of that, I know you’re strong enough to push through now.” The sun began to set on the horizon as Levi made his way to safety for the night, casting red and pink on the ground below him as his horse sprinted through the beautiful surroundings. Levi knew he had to get you stabilized as quickly as possible, while hiding you somewhere safe for the evening, in case more of the Soulless came searching. 

Luckily, he knew exactly where to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader during this entire chapter:  
> 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading, and I appreciate all of you who comments, bookmarks, and leave kudos. Every kudo I see makes me smile, every comment and bookmark makes my heart leap out of my chest, and the fact that you are just reading it makes me happy. :)
> 
> In case anyone was interested, readers escape was inspired by an episode of the show “I Survived” and a lot of google searching. To be honest, getting stuck in a fire is one of my very (random) greatest fears, so this chapter really dug in deep to that. 
> 
> Anyways, next week will have more exciting things to come! So goodnight and sweet dreams to all of you lovely readers, see you next week! ♥


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